The Dreamland Story firstdraft
by GameTrekker
Summary: Huh? Why are you looking at this? This is a copy of the story from before it had a qualified author writing it. Sure, you can look through here to see what happened in the original, but you should check out The Dream Land Story if you want a good read.
1. Days Daze

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The Dreamland Story

by GameTrekker

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Chapter 1: Days Daze

The sun rose above the distant mountains and a new day began in Dreamland.

For Popopo, it was like any other day. He slept in until the last bits of his great dream faded away. He got up. He had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, whipped cream, strawberries, apples, cream puffs, a little cereal and some toast (with some cinnamon sugar on top). Popopo did not brush his teeth because Dreamlanders do not have teeth.

Popopo then went outside to play various games with his friends Tututu, Vavava and Ririri. Hide and Seek was their favorite game because they could puff up and fly up to the roof or into the trees to hide. After play, each Dreamlander would take their afternoon nap. They would always have good dreams. That is how Dreamland got its name: the residents would always have good dreams. After the Dreamlanders had their nap, they would play some more. When the sun was setting, Popopo went inside and had a supper that was probably larger than the breakfast described earlier. Popopo then went to sleep.

Life was good. This is just how it was. Yes. How it _was_.

Because one day, it wasn't.


	2. Dictatorship

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Chapter 2: Dictatorship

King Dedede ruled over Dreamland and the Dreamlanders didn't care. Why should they? King Dedede was a self-proclaimed king and performed no administrative role whatsoever. Oh sure, King Dedede had tons of minions and a huge castle on a mountain that was named (by him) after him, but the Dreamlanders just went on living their happy lives without giving him a thought. It didn't even matter that he wasn't a Dreamlander. (For those of you who are wondering, King Dedede is a large penguin.)

One day, King Dedede's servants heard him growling and wailing and they stood wondering whether they should check on him or not. When they finally decided to, they burst into the king's room to find him looking perfectly fine. When they asked him what was wrong, he was so startled that he said something profane that meant (to put it mildly) to get out of his room.

The same day, King Dedede told his servants to organize a mass gathering of all Dreamlanders. The word was spread quickly and, in no time, a huge hall was filled with millions of Dreamlanders. The multicolored mass (as seen from above) was enough to make anybody gape, for each Dreamlander is a different color. 

King Dedede approached the stand and held up a microphone to speak. 

"Dreamlanders," he said, "thank you for coming to my castle! You will never leave it again! That is all."

With a snap, all the doors, windows, and passages to the outside world, sealed off.


	3. The Leftover

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Chapter 3: The Leftover

Popopo sat at home. He always avoided occasions that involved large crowds. He was a shy Dreamlander of the color pink. Popopo didn't talk much and his worst fear was having to speak in public. Popopo ate a meal and went to sleep.

After his nap, Popopo went outside to find his friends. They weren't there. In fact, nobody was "there". Dreamland seemed to be completely deserted. Popopo got worried. When had he last seen his friends? Oh, yeah. When they had said that everyone was going to Dedede's castle.

Well, "everyone" wasn't back yet. Popopo thought about this. In order to take one's afternoon nap, one must go to bed, but no one had been to their house for quite a while. Therefore, "everyone" had missed afternoon nap! This was serious.

Popopo went to King Dedede's castle on Mt. Dedede to investigate. The entire place was sealed off! No way in, and, seemingly, no way out either! "Everyone" must be trapped in there!

Now, Popopo was really freaked out and he ran all the way home. Not stopping in case he might suddenly find himself trapped in a huge crowd for all eternity.

Popopo rushed inside, stuffed himself into a pillowcase, and hid under the covers, shaking.


	4. Sticky Indeed

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Chapter 4: Sticky Indeed

Popopo waited for a long time. At first, he wouldn't even think. At second, he thought about what he should do. At third, he thought he should wait for something to happen. Popopo didn't know how long he lay there. It is possible that he may have slept for part of the time, but his sleep was without dreams (we'll get back to that much later).

Of course, something happened (if nothing happened, we wouldn't have a story). A loud sound was coming from somewhere. It was a speaking voice. The voice had a very smart-alec-like tone and it was saying the same thing over and over.

This is what it was saying: "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? If anyone is there, then pick up the phone! Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? If anyone is there, then pick up the phone!"

The voice said its message again. Popopo reached out from inside the pillowcase and picked up the phone by his bed.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello! Thank you for picking up the phone," the voice replied. "If you want to talk to me, pick up the phone on your front porch."

"Huh?" replied Popopo.

"Hello! Thank you for picking up the phone," the voice repeated. "If you want to talk to me, pick up the phone on your front porch."

Popopo didn't bother replying and went to his front porch where, sure enough, there was a cell phone waiting. The phone was white and had a little yellow star for an antenna.

Popopo picked it up, pressed the talk button and said, "Hello?"

"Hello!" replied the voice. "Wow! It sure is great to hear a Dreamlander's voice! Hi! Are there any more of you?"

"No," replied Popopo.

"No? So you're the only one that isn't trapped. Hmm..."

"Who're you?"

"Eh? Oh, the name's Gooey! You'll be needing my help."

"..."

"Not much of a speaker, are you? If you're wondering why I'm called Gooey, then it is because I am here to help you get out of a sticky situation! Ha, ha!"

"Where're you?"

"I'm surprised you haven't asked me if you can trust me yet. I'll save you the trouble by telling you, at the risk of being clichéd, that I'm all you got. As for my whereabouts, wouldn't you like to know! Just think of me as your guide that's looking down on you."

"You see me?"

"Well... No, actually. The phone you have in your hand is your key to the door of greatness and I mean that figuratively. No, I'm not God. I'm just the head of a company that makes something that you have probably never heard of. I call them warpstars and they're going to revolutionize transportation as you know it."

"Help?"

"Ah. I see you want your friends back. Well, my other job is to take over if ever there is an emergency and boy is there an emergency. No need to worry, however. I will send a warpstar right over to take you into King Dedede's castle."

"Teleportation?"

"No. I wish it was, but my warpstar will probably take out a wall to get you in. It should arrive right about... now!"

A big, yellow, flat, star-shaped thing latched onto Popopo's feet and carried him off towards Mt. Dedede.


	5. At First Dark

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Chapter 5: At First Dark

Popopo flew on the warpstar to Mt. Dedede in a very short time. When they were getting close, the warpstar tilted vertically. If Popopo's feet weren't attached to the warpstar, he would have fallen off. The warpstar slammed into the side of Dedede's castle and left a star-shaped hole in the wall. 

Popopo was scared again. At this point, Gooey decided to speak.

"Don't you wish you had pockets?" he said, "If you don't want to have to carry that phone around all the time, just terminate the connection and the phone will disappear. If you want to talk to me again, just think about the phone and it'll appear. If I need to call you, the phone will appear and I'll just start talking. You got all that?"

"Uh, yeah," replied Popopo without bothering to try to cover the shakiness to his voice.

Down, down and down the warpstar went. Then, suddenly, it stopped. The warpstar disappeared and Popopo looked around the corner that it had stopped in front of.

There was King Dedede, but he wasn't acting like his normal arrogant self. Instead, a strange noise was coming from his mouth. He was muttering to himself. 

"Yo, King! Over here!"

Popopo's heart went berserk. The voice had startled him so much that he almost screamed before he realized that it was Gooey talking.

King Dedede looked up. The pupils of his eyes were black slits like a cat's and he murmured, "Kill spare."

With that, King Dedede pulled out a huge mallet and ran towards Popopo while winding up to strike. Popopo screamed and started to run up the stairs behind him. Dedede was close behind.

"Popopo!" Gooey interrupted. "What the heck is going on?" 

"King Berserk wants to kill me! HELP!!!!!!" 

"I'll send a warpstar!"

Seconds later, a warpstar smashed through a wall and saved Popopo from becoming a pink pancake.

While on the warpstar, Gooey and Popopo had another little talk. That is, they had a talk _after_ Popopo's heart and breathing returned to their normal paces.

"So..." Gooey prompted.

"What was that?!!"

"Dunno."

"You don't know?!"

"Did you see any characteristic of Dedede look a bit odd? Face, hands, suit, gut, anything!"

"The pupils of his eyes were like slits."

"Oh, no..."

"Oh, no?! Oh, no what?!"

"Heh, heh. I see the current situation has finally got you to stop talking in single word sentences. Okay. This is worse than I thought. With the info you just gave me, I can tell you what we're up against. It is called Dark Matter. It is a force in the galaxy that possesses beings in order to spread. It has decided to feed on your friends."

"..."

"Your silence is as much as I expected. The only way to defeat Dark Matter is to use the star rod. The star rod is an ancient relic that is an evil countering device. However, there is a problem. My sensors indicate that the star rod has been broken up into seven pieces and scattered across Dreamland. I'll bet anything that Dark Matter made Dedede command his underlings to break it up and guard each piece. It is your job to defeat these monsters, reassemble the star rod, and destroy Dark Matter!"

The warpstar flew on.


	6. Power 1 and Experimentation

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Chapter 6: Power #1 and Experimentation

The warpstar eventually landed in a place called Vegetable Valley. Popopo got off the warpstar and it immediately flew away. 

"So, Popopo," said Gooey on the phone. "I need to get you all set to save Dreamland."

"Me?!" shrieked Popopo. "I nearly soiled myself when Dedede came at me. I'm no hero."

"I can fix that. The pieces of the star rod will give you powers."

"But I'm too scared to try to get one."

"I can fix that," Gooey repeated. "A warpstar should be arriving with something that will hopefully help. It was given to me by someone named Sah-koor-eye, or something like that. He said to give it to the one survivor when there is an emergency."

The warpstar returned and disappeared. The thing it was carrying fell to the ground. It was small, flat and transparent.

"He gave me instructions to give the survivor the following instructions," Gooey continued. "'In case of emergency, eat glass.' I guess you should eat the glass in font of you. It must be special."

Popopo eyed the small sheet of what looked like glass hesitantly. Then he picked it up and shoved it into his mouth. He swallowed and waited for something to happen.

"Is anything happening?" asked Gooey.

"No," replied Popopo.

"You sure? Your voice seems a bit tense..."

"Uh..." said Popopo. 

"Well, I'm tense too!" Gooey exploded. "I don't want to fail both my jobs and have the universe taken over by Dark Matter all in one day! Come on! Something must be happening!"

Popopo now felt that a whole lot of responsibility was being put on him to have something happen. He began to take deep breaths to try to calm himself. That, however, did not work. For as he inhaled, he felt the sensation that all the trees were bending in his direction.

"What is that awful racket?!!!" exclaimed Gooey. "A fat lot of help the ability to make loud whistling noises is going to give us!"

"Gooey, I think I may be going insane," said Popopo weakly.

"What?!!!" replied Gooey sounding quite insane himself.

"Every time I breathe in, the trees bend toward me."

"Huh? Wait. What was that last thing you said?"

"Every time I breathe in, the trees bend toward me," Popopo repeated.

"Popopo, I've got an idea." Gooey sounded anxious. "Are there any rocks nearby?"

"There's a large rock to my left."

"Well, what're you waiting for? Inhale it!"

"Inhale it?"

"Suck it up!"

"Okay..."

Popopo stood facing the rock and drew a deep breath. The rock shrank and entered his mouth! Popopo now had a large rock inside of him! Popopo was so surprised that he spat it out. It shot away, felling a large tree. Popopo then told Gooey what had just happened.

"Bravo!" replied Gooey. "This is how you'll dispatch your enemies. Popopo, you can now make an effort to reassemble the star rod!"


	7. Go Forth, Vacuum Man!

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Chapter 7: Go Forth, Vacuum Man!

After a brief discussion of tactics, Popopo and Gooey decided that Popopo should suck and blow (both literally) enemies to smithereens.

This is what Popopo did. In his first encounter with enemies (specifically two Waddle Dees) he inhaled one Waddle Dee and spat the little guy into the other one. They collided and disappeared in a shower of stars. Popopo continued in this fashion. He also flew over gaps in the ground and structures that were too large to jump over. (As you may or may not have picked up, all Dreamlanders can inflate and fly.) Popopo also called Gooey whenever he needed a warpstar to take him somewhere.

Popopo finally made it to the center of Vegetable Valley, where there was a forest called Whispy's Woods. In Whispy's Woods, Popopo met with the ruler, Whispy Woods! Popopo tried to suck him in, but Whispy Woods' roots went too deep into the ground and he did not budge. Whispy Woods was a big tree with a face and a nasty temper.

"Ha, ha, ha! What a futile attempt to uproot me!" jeered Whispy Woods in a low, haughty and airy tone of voice. "You cannot defeat me! I am the ruler of Vegetable Valley and offspring of the Great Deku Tree himself!" 

"Just watch me!" retorted Popopo. He was having a lot of fun playing the hero and beating up the bad guys.

"Fool!" shouted Whispy Woods and a great wind emanated from his lips, blowing Popopo into a nearby tree.

"Oww..." groaned Popopo.

"There's more where that came from!" laughed Whispy Woods as he started shaking his branches. Apples started coming down on Popopo, hurting him.

Popopo faced the onslaught and inhaled an apple. He shot it right into Whispy Woods' nose.

"Yowch!" hollered Whispy Woods. "You'll pay for that one!"

Roots started coming out of the ground like spikes. Popopo managed to dodge most of them. He inhaled more apples from Whispy's branches and shot them at him.

"All right! Now I'm _really_ angry!" said Whispy Woods as he transformed into **Pissedy Woods**!

Pissedy's branches shook and apples rained down on Popopo. The roots grabbed Popopo and held him still as a harsh wind seared him. 

Popopo struggled and flailed as he was smashed and cut by the tree. Popopo opened his mouth wide and took the deepest breath he had ever taken. The trees bent, apples went right in, Pissedy Woods' leaves were torn from his branches.

With a mighty scream, Popopo ejected the contents of his mouth into Pissedy Woods' right eye. 

"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!" Pissedy Woods, now Whispy Woods again, screamed as the roots around Popopo loosened, the wind died and the apple barrage stopped.

Whispy Woods' jaw hung open and out came a small pink and white fractured thing. Popopo had recovered the first out of seven pieces of the star rod!

"Congrats, Popopo!" exclaimed Gooey. "That sounded like real winnings! Have enough breath to tell me the details?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," said Popopo and told him.


	8. That's MR Vacuum to You!

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Chapter 8: That's _Mr._ Vacuum to You!

After a while of sitting and trying to figure out how the get some sort of power out of the star rod shard, Popopo decided to speak again.

"Ya know, Gooey," he said, "I figure I should have some sort of alias when on my travels. Something more heroic sounding than Popopo. Maybe Kakaka..."

"Naaah, that sounds stupid," replied Gooey. "No six lettered Dreamlander name is going to cut it."

"Don't insult Dreamland names!"

"You're just defending them because you've never heard any other sort of name before hearing mine. Let's try to find a name that pertains to your powers."

"Um..."

"Maybe I should come up with the name. You'll never think of anything that isn't six letters long and having a repeating sound. So, let's see... Good names have five letters, like mine... I got it! There's a brand of vacuum cleaners that I know of called Kirby! That would make a great alias."

"Kirby... I like it."

Then Kirby it is! And by the way, Kirby, help is on the way to get some power out of that shard."


	9. Power 2 and Experimentation

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Chapter 9: Power #2 and Experimentation

A warpstar landed in front of Kirby and a little gadget thing scanned the shard. After that, it got back on the warpstar and zoomed off. Gooey spoke minutes later with the update.

"It is safe to eat it," he announced. "it will reside within you until you have eaten all the shards."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely! I'm always sure."

"Okay."

Kirby ate it. Suddenly, a strange voice spoke to Kirby inside his head.

The voice said, in a mystical tone, "Oh, Star Warrior, the star rod is still fragmented in six lands. Your next task is to locate the shard in Butter Building. High atop Butter Building is the fortress of Lololo and Lalala, two siblings that are offspring of Dedede's race and the Dreamlander race. They will clear your path. The power that I will bestow upon you now, through the star rod shard is the power to copy foes' abilities by swallowing them. You can also discard your copied ability at any time. May you shine forth like a star."

The voice faded, leaving Kirby lying wide-eyed on the ground.

"Great. What power did you get?" asked Gooey.

"The ability to copy foes' powers," replied Kirby.

"How do you know that?"

Kirby told him.

"I'm gonna try it out," said Kirby.

"Okay... On what?" replied Gooey.

Kirby looked around. He had already cleared Whispy's Woods of "foes".

"Gooey, get me a warpstar to Butter Building," said Kirby, decidedly.

The warpstar bashed in the wall of Butter Building and disappeared. Kirby was immediately face to face with a Waddle Dee! Kirby inhaled it, swallowed and... nothing happened.

"I just swallowed a Waddle Dee, but nothing happened," said Kirby.

"Duh," replied Gooey. "Waddle Dees are amazingly weak minions. Why would they have powers?"

"Good point," agreed Kirby.

Kirby walked on and encountered a Blowfire! Kirby inhaled and swallowed it. Kirby then transformed into Fire Kirby, complete with flaming hat!

"Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" exclaimed Kirby. What else was there to say?

"I'm sure glad that the phone's fireproof, Fire Kirby!" said Gooey.

Kirby ran up to a few Bronto Burts that were about to dive-bomb him and breathed fire on them, enough fire to reduce them to flaming carcasses on the ground. Then Fire Kirby stopped, something had just occurred to him.

"How did you know I was _Fire_ Kirby?" he said.

"The little letters on my phone always tell me who I'm talking to. It's just another high-tech thing that I've perfected," replied Gooey, smugly.

"Ah."

Kirby then transformed back into regular Kirby and inhaled a Sir Kibble to become Cutter Kirby! Cutter Kirby threw a boomerang to slice another Sir Kibble in half.

"I'm enjoying this more and more," said Kirby.


	10. Um Info

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Chapter 10: Um... Info

After much running around, copying powers, using them, and occasionally getting hurt in the process, Kirby was getting quite tired.

"How high _is_ this Butter Building?" he asked Gooey.

"Very high," replied Gooey. "The only problem is that my warpstars can't take you into Lololo and Lalala's fortress. It is made out of an impenetrable metal of some sort. Not even my warpstars can break it. However, they _can_ get you some help with that awful state you must be in."

"I huuuuuuurt," moaned Kirby.

"You won't soon!"

A warpstar took out the wall in front of Kirby and disappeared, leaving whatever was on it on the ground. Kirby stared at it. It was round. It was red. It had a little green tuft on top of it. It also had a big M on the front.

"It's..." began Kirby.

"A maximum tomato!!!!" interrupted Gooey. "It is guaranteed to relieve all wounds and return the eater to full health! Plus, it's quite yummy!"

After eating the tomato and recovering a bit, Kirby said in astonishment, "Wow! That really works! Did you make this too?"

"I wish. You see, I'm not that great of a cook. I've got a great one in the kitchen though. His name is Chef Kawasaki and boy is he talented!"

"Hmm..." said Kirby as he walked through the next door. It shut behind him and locked.

"Gooey," said Kirby, "who's this guy in the room with me?"

"I can't see! Use the camera on the phone!"

Kirby took a picture of the blue suited guy and Gooey replied, "His name is Poppy Brothers Senior. You may have seen his minions wandering around."

"You mean those powerless guys who look like him and wander in different directions."

"Exactly. This guy, however, is a master of explosives. Be careful."

Kirby just raced at Poppy Brothers Senior.


	11. Battling through Butter Building

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Chapter 11: Battling through Butter Building

Poppy Brothers Senior saw Kirby coming and grinned. He had been waiting for Kirby to show up. Kirby currently had no power. So he tried to inhale Poppy Brothers Senior. However, Poppy Brothers Senior was not budging!

"Kirby! Poppy Brothers Senior is one of those large enemies that can't be inhaled until knocked out!" yelled Gooey.

Poppy Brothers Senior pulled out a bomb and lobbed it at Kirby. Kirby wasn't ready and it hit him right in the face! The explosion blasted Kirby across the room. He hit a wall and slid to the floor. 

"Is that all you got?!" shouted Kirby, getting back up.

Poppy Brothers Senior threw another bomb and this time Kirby inhaled it, transforming into Bomb Kirby! Bomb Kirby threw a barrage of bombs back at Poppy Brothers Senior. They didn't miss. Poppy Brothers Senior fell to the ground, unconscious. Kirby trashed his bomb power and inhaled Poppy Brothers Senior. Kirby was now Crash Kirby!

Something was odd. Even though Kirby had a power, Kirby didn't have the hat to go with it. He just felt a pulsing, like he could explode. 

__

This could be interesting, thought Crash Kirby as he entered the next room.

Immediately, Kirby heard a voice that shouted, "Kirby defeated him! Kill!"

The lights came on to reveal a huge room filled with enemies of all kinds that were rushing at Crash Kirby. 

Crash Kirby, right then, activated his extremely powerful, one-time-use-only power. The explosion was deafening and it knocked Kirby out for a few seconds. When he came to, he was in a completely bare room. Crash had completely wiped out all the enemies!

"Kirby," said Gooey. "I'm keeping track of what powers you have used so far and I think you might be interested to hear the list."

"Okay," said Kirby.

"You've used Fire, Cutter, Spark, Beam, Bomb and Crash."

"Okay," repeated Kirby.

In the next room, there was a huge drop and no way back.

"Oh, no!" said Kirby. "Now I have to go way down and I'm trying to go up! I'm no good with drops! There are lots of enemies on platforms littered throughout this big tube."

"Go back into the previous room."

"But the door on the far side of that room is locked."

"Just go in there."

Kirby did.

"Now," Gooey continued, "that Crash you did must have wrecked some of the floor or something."

"Yeah, there're some rocks jutting out."

"Well, inhale the rocks! From the looks of how you've been getting powers, you should be able to get Stone power from them."

Kirby inhaled the rocks, transformed into Stone Kirby and re-entered the "tube" room.

"I think I know what to do," said Kirby.

He jumped and became a rock. He crashed down on enemies and platforms. He flattened the bad guys and destroyed their little floors. He kept shooting down in a blur of grey and behind him roared a huge mass of falling construction materials. 


	12. Straight to the Top

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Chapter 12: Straight to the Top

BAM! Kirby the Rock hit the ground and transformed back into regular Kirby. Kirby looked up to see what looked like the sky falling on him. With a shriek, Kirby ran through the door near him and slammed it shut. The bolts sealed automatically and Kirby heard the deafening crash that the clutter made when it hit the ground.

Kirby walked on a little ways to a place with a new type of enemy. They were High-Jump Dans! Kirby inhaled one and became High-Jump Kirby! Kirby began High-Jumping up the new vertical tube he was in.

Kirby suddenly heard an evil voice behind him. It sounded like a merciless god was laughing at him.

The voice said, "Ah, Star Warrior, I have found you!"

Kirby looked down and saw that a huge eye was following him up the tube. 

"Who are you?!" shouted Kirby.

"I am the one who darkens the sky. I am the one who makes glass by touching sand. I am the one who streaks through the night to strike down the unwary. I am the one who flashes in the distance and roars after moments. I am the bang that spits trees. I AM KRACKO AND I AM YOUR DESTROYER!"

Spikes shot out of Kracko to hover around it; they were pointed directly at Kirby. To Kirby they looked like white balls.

If Kirby knew any swear words, this was when he would have used them.

Kirby kept High-Jumping, trying to escape Kracko, who at that point decided to fire a barrage of cannonballs at Kirby. One of them hit Kirby and he lost his High-Jump power!

Kirby knew just flying upward was not nearly fast enough to evade the eye. Kirby braced himself for impact.

The eye part of Kracko slammed into Kirby and he was shot upward in a daze of pain. Kracko was still coming, spikes poised for the finishing blow. Kirby figured he couldn't inhale this powerful of an enemy with out killing it first. Instead, he inhaled one of the spikes on Kracko's side, became Needle Kirby, and turned into a spike ball just as Kracko hit him with all the force it could muster. 

Kirby awoke (as regular Kirby) in a metal place he did not recognize. However, there was a sign in front of him that read, "Welcome to Lololo and Lalala's fortress! If you are related to King Dedede, that is. If you are not, we have a lovely parting gift of Gordos for you!"

Also in front of Kirby was a big eye that was covered in bloody holes and had electricity flickering around it.

"Star Warrior..." it said, "you have proven a formidable opponent. May we meet again! Next time you will not be so lucky."

Kracko tilted sideways and tumbled down the tube behind it.

After eating the welcome food, Kirby went to find Lololo and Lalala. He hoped that they would make an exception to the rule of no non-Dedede relatives to see him.


	13. Just Ducky

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Chapter 13: Just Ducky

Kirby entered the guestroom and went to the door that was marked "Our room. Please wait for admittance." Under that note, Kirby noticed one that read "We are currently working in the packaging room." The notice went on to advertise Royal Shipping, Lololo and Lalala's company. 

There was another door that had the words "Packaging room" on it. Kirby entered that one. Inside was a HUGE room filled with mountains of boxes. Between the mountains were small paths. Kirby wanted to fly up to the top of one of the mountains to see if he could spot Lololo and Lalala, but the high air pressure in the room prevented him from doing so. 

Kirby took a deep breath and shouted, "Lololo! Lalala! It's me, Kirby! The Star Warrior! I've come for information!"

Kirby then heard this reply, said in unison from opposite ends of the room, "You do not have permission to be here! Get out now! If you don't, we will be forced to eliminate you!"

"That's not a very good idea!" Kirby shouted back. "I only need a few moments! If you do not comply, I will be forced to... well... force you to!"

"No Dreamlander is allowed in here and no Dreamlander that has entered here has ever left here alive! You will be no exception!"

Suddenly, two boxes started racing toward Kirby, one on either side. Kirby had nowhere to go! Kirby inhaled one box and shot it into the other one to reveal Lololo and Lalala behind them. They immediately turned around and started running away. 

Kirby went after Lololo. He turned the corner and a box smashed into him. The impact threw him against a wall. He got up to see another box coming and inhaled it. He shot it back and it narrowly missed Lalala, who turned a corner to evade it. 

The packaging room was like a maze and Kirby had no idea how to navigate through it. Every bit of it looked the same and attack could come from any direction at any time. Lololo and Lalala must have known every nook and cranny of this place. 

Kirby considered inhaling one of the boxes in the stacks, but thought better of it. If he did, they would all come tumbling down on him probably killing him.

Another box hit him in the back. Kirby turned around to find the pusher, but he or she was already gone. Then Kirby turned back around to make sure no one was sneaking up on him. He had one momentary glimpse of brown before that box hit him as well. Kirby bounced off walls and was hit more times, he didn't know how much more he could take of this, so he began running wildly down the paths while sucking in at the slightest movement. He rounded a corner and saw Lalala coming with another box. He waited for her to come close before he inhaled the box. He then quickly spat it out and it hit her hard. She flew far and slammed into the wall, unconscious. Kirby spun around to make sure no one was sneaking up on him. Since no one was, he shouted, "Come on Lololo! You're next! Show me what you got!"

Another box rounded the corner and Kirby got ready to inhale it, but from behind it he heard, "Here's what I got! Your promised parting gift of Gordos!"

Kirby immediately found out what a "Gordo" was. Out of the bag popped a little black ball with eyes and white spikes. Kirby sucked in, but the Gordo was unaffected! It jumped up and hit Kirby right between the eyes. Kirby fell back, dazed, and he heard Lololo laughing at him while many more Gordos poured out of the box, going for Kirby. Kirby screamed and started running again.

Kirby thought that this was as good a time as any to call up Gooey for advice. He did so and shouted, "Gooey!!! Help me!!! I'm in Lololo and Lalala's packaging room!" 

"Oh shoot! Not there!" Gooey replied. "I've been there due to business reasons. That place is impossible to navigate through!"

"Tell me something I don't know!"

"You must be fighting Lololo and Lalala, judging by the noise."

"Just Lololo. I already dealt with Lalala."

"Listen to me, Kirby. This is important. Do _not _let them release any Gordos!"

"They already have!"

At this point, Gooey said something profane.

"What?!" shouted Kirby. "I'm not familiar with that word!"

"Kirby! Run from the Gordos! Although small, Gordos practically define the term 'invincible'. They cannot be hurt, killed, put to sleep, or even inhaled! I doubt even Crash would do the trick! Just focus on defeating Lololo! I can't help you any more than that!"

"What's in the boxes?"

"No clue."

"Okay. Gotta run, literally!"

Kirby hung up and started running from the Gordos that had rounded a corner near him. He had gotten an idea. He inhaled one of the boxes out of the nearest mountain and it started to lean toward him. He quickly started running away with the box still in his mouth. The mountain toppled over and Kirby made it out of the way just in time. He spat the box back at the fallen boxes and it opened up one of them to reveal... boxing equipment! No, not equipment for making boxes. Equipment for the sport of boxing! Kirby inhaled them and became Fighter Kirby! Fighter Kirby began punching in all the boxes, revealing all kinds of stuff. Kirby found something he liked. It was a flame-thrower! Fighter Kirby became regular Kirby and inhaled the flame-thrower to become Fire Kirby! Fire Kirby began torching the boxes and many mountains were turning to ash when Kirby heard a voice cry out, "No! Stop! Don't ruin our perfect packaging!"

Kirby stopped and said, "Come on out and tell your Gordos to stop or I'll lay waste to your boxes!"

"Stop, Gordos, stop! Why are you out of your boxes?!"

"You sent them after me!"

"Why?"

"I WAS JUST ABOUT TO ASK YOU THE SAME THING!!!"

"I... don't... know."

It suddenly dawned on Kirby what was happening. He remembered the only words he had ever heard King Dedede say: "Kill spare." Lololo and Lalala must have been possessed by Dark Matter! That would explain their sudden obsession with killing and the signs that said "Only Dedede and relatives are allowed." Their unwillingness to have their wares destroyed must have allowed them to overcome Dark Matter's power!

After clearing things up a bit, Kirby told Lololo and Lalala the story so far. Then he asked them where the second piece of the star rod was hidden.

"I hope it's not in one of those boxes," he said.

"For all we know, it might be," they replied. "We don't remember any of the time during which we were being controlled."

"Just great," said Kirby sarcastically. "It would take forever to find it in there!"

"We do have a lead though," they interrupted. "There is a place back down in Butter Building that would be typical to hide something in. We had been hearing noises down there for a while before Dark Matter came. He might have been preparing it. We will give you directions."

"That sounds more like it!" replied Kirby.

"Very well," said Lololo and Lalala, still in unison. "Here is a map. We will mark the vault and the most direct route."

It was quite a long one, Kirby thought.


	14. Butter Building Revisited

****

Chapter 14: Butter Building Revisited

After saying good-bye to Lololo and Lalala, Kirby went back down into Butter Building. He then called up Gooey and had a warpstar take him directly to the vault. 

At the vault, Kirby wondered why Dark Matter used such a large safe. It was as big as a whole room. Still on the warpstar, Kirby got into the safe quite easily. Inside, Kirby was face to face with a hammer! It hit Kirby and he was flattened against the wall!

When Kirby looked up, he got a glimpse of a huge and muscular monkey above him carrying a hammer before he slammed into four hard surfaces. 

Kirby heard cackling laughter above him.

A crazy voice with an ever-changing pitch shouted, "Blaahaahaahaahaa!!! Bonkers smash pink marshmallow!!!!!" 

Kirby looked up and saw the hammer coming down on him. He rolled to the side just before he would have been "smashed". 

Kirby got up and Bonkers cackled with laughter.

"It looks like the marshmallow must be roasted first!!!" he screamed and started throwing coconuts at Kirby. 

Kirby managed to inhale some of the coconuts, but the others hit the walls and exploded. Kirby felt the fiery pain as the explosions singed his back.

Kirby aimed and shot all the coconuts he had inhaled right into Bonkers' chest.

"Ow, ow, ow!" shrieked Bonkers and ran into a corner. When he got there, he pulled something out of his suit. It was a detonator box!!! (For those of you who don't know what a detonator box is, it's one of those things where you push down the bar on top and something goes BOOM.)

Kirby stopped. He had no idea what would explode if Bonkers pushed that thing and he didn't want to find out.

"Come no closer!" said Bonkers. "If you do, I'll blow us all to tiny, tiny bits!"

Kirby's eyes widened. Could it be that the thing that was wired to explode was the safe that he and Bonkers were both inside of? Could it be that Bonkers was just bluffing? 

In a split-second decision, Kirby leapt forward and inhaled the box. Then he shot it back at Bonkers. This knocked Bonkers out and Kirby inhaled him for the Hammer ability!

Then a voice came over some sort of intercom.

"Butter Building self-destruct sequence activated," it said. "Butter Building will explode in sixty seconds. Have a nice day."

"Oh, no," said Kirby.

Kirby quickly called Gooey and yelled, "Butter Building's about to explode! Get me out of here!"

"Okay!" said Gooey. "A warpstar is on its way. Also, don't worry about Lololo and Lalala. Their fortress can fly."

"Kirby, looking for this?" said a voice behind Kirby.

Kirby spun around and saw a bird about his size with _a star rod shard in its beak!_

Kirby inhaled the shard, thinking that the bird was an enemy, and was immediately picked up by a warpstar. As he flew off into the clouds, he could see a little speck leave Butter Building before it crumbled into dust.


	15. Power 3 with Bonus

****

Chapter 15: Power #3 (with Bonus)

On the warpstar, the voice in Kirby's head spoke again.

"Well done, Star Warrior," it said. "You have obtained the second piece of the star rod. You can now inhale while you have a power. Your next stop is in Grape Garden. May you shine forth like a star."

After Kirby conveyed this message to Gooey, Kirby also said that he didn't know he couldn't already inhale while he had a power.

The warpstar touched down in the cloud-filled world of Grape Garden. Immediately, a Poppy Brothers Junior ran up to Kirby.

Kirby got ready to inhale, but the Poppy Brothers Junior cried out, "Kirby, wait! Don't kill me! We're on your side now!"

"What?" said Kirby.

"You defeated our master in Butter Building and now we are free! We thank you so much and have a gift for you!"

"I'm listening."

"This," said the Poppy Brothers Junior, motioning to a black thing to his left, "is called a warp-cannon. If you light its fuse and get inside, it will take you to our Poppy Brothers Junior secret areas, where we have hidden things for our use. We will now allow _you_ to use them as well. Here's a torch to light the fuse with. Good-bye and thanks again!"

Before Kirby could say anything, the Poppy Brothers Juniors vanished.

Kirby decided to try out the "warp-cannon" right away. He inhaled the torch and transformed from Hammer Kirby to Fire Kirby and lit the fuse. Although he didn't say it out loud, he was disappointed that he couldn't have more than one power at a time. Kirby got in the cannon and heard a loud bang. He then realized that he was standing in a sort of bubble in a cloud that was filled with—

"Food!" exclaimed Kirby and ate until he was at full health.

In the middle of the room was a hole and Kirby jumped down through it to appear back beside the warp-cannon.

"Kirby! Kirby!" said Gooey, suddenly. "Come in, Kirby!"

"Gooey, I'm here!" said Kirby. "What is it?"

"Kirby! You just disappeared off my scanners for a while! I've been trying to reach you! What happened?!!"

Kirby told him.


	16. No Walk in the Park

****

Chapter 16: No Walk in the Park

"Kirby," said Gooey, "I can think of two suspects as to who is keeping the star rod shard in this place. Number one: Ado. She is a witch who paints pictures and makes them come to life. The problem is that her greatest joy is to destroy things by painting evil creatures. Number two: uh... well... maybe that's a little far-fetched."

"What?" asked Kirby.

"Number two: Kracko." 

"I've met that guy! It was the eye that tried to kill me in Butter Building! I just remembered that it told me its name! It was Kracko! Who the heck _is_ that guy, anyway?"

"No one really knows what Kracko is or where it came from. It has been found that it has many aliases as well."

"Huh?"

"Aliases like Mr. Storm, Zaupon, and Zeus. It is an eye that can conjure clouds, cannon balls, spikes, bombs, Waddle Doos, High-Jump Dans, and lightning."

"Gooey," interrupted Kirby, "I think I'm going to have to cut you off. Ado is right in front of me."

Ado smiled. Dreamlanders are very satisfying to smash. She painted a Bronto Burt on the easel next to her and sent it at Kirby, who torched it with the Fire ability that he still had.

"Ooh, you're a feisty one!" she cackled. "How's about some of this?"

She started painting more and more enemies. Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, Mariels, Bronto Burts, Mumbies, Bouncies, Li'l Red Cars, Boppin' Baseballs, Sparkies, Floaties, Nellies, and more bombarded Kirby, but Kirby would just get their powers and destroy them. 

Kirby then noticed that there was a trail of easels along a cloudy path and that Ado was running away while painting enemies to keep Kirby busy! Kirby chased after her while continuing to fight!

Eventually, Ado stopped running and turned around to see that all her troops defeated and Kirby on his way to kill her! Kirby was nearing Ado and she had on the most evil look of pure hatred, eyes fixed on Kirby. Kirby faltered. This gave Ado just enough time to paint another enemy.

"Have fun with Kaboola!!!" she yelled as the blimp/cannon started machine-gunning Kirby. 

Kirby took eight hits in the face. He flopped over on the ground. Dreamlanders don't bleed, but if they did, Kirby would have been lying in a pool of blood.

Kaboola dropped a bomb next to Kirby to finish him off. With his last bit of strength, Kirby inhaled the bomb, became Bomb Kirby, and nailed Kaboola right in the middle of its balloon part. Kaboola went down in a fiery blaze and exploded far below the clouds. 

Kirby felt himself be forced onto his back, his mouth pried open, and something shoved in. Kirby suddenly felt great! What happened? He looked up and saw a cat slinking away into the distance. It had fed him something. Kirby decided not to think about that and focus on Ado. She was giving him another one of her hate-filled looks.

Ado quickly painted another enemy.

"Here's Lady Boxer!" she screamed as Lady Boxer went for Kirby, clad in full armor.

"Here's Kirby!" yelled Kirby as he inhaled her boxing gloves to reveal—

"Metal fists!" exclaimed Fighter Kirby. "This is going to hurt..."

POW! Lady Boxer's first attack sent Kirby flying at least a dozen meters away.

Kirby got back up and raced at Lady Boxer, using roundhouse kicks to remove her armor. She made a jab. Kirby dodged and then he hit her with the progressive vulcan jab into the air! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight progressive hits! Wind uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup... KO!

Lady Boxer was on the ground. She was beaten up so badly that she didn't even have a recognizable shape. Kirby inhaled her and spat her out at the easel that Ado was currently painting on.

Ado gave Kirby another one of those looks and bent her paintbrush into a boomerang. She threw it at Kirby slicing his left cheek. Then she caught it and threw it again. This time Kirby was ready. He inhaled it and shot it back at Ado, knocking her down. 

VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	17. Adamant Ado

****

Chapter 17: Adamant Ado

Kirby walked up to Ado. She was lying on the ground, unconscious. Kirby didn't know anything about non-Dreamlander anatomy, but he got the feeling that Ado's leg wasn't supposed to bend like that.

Ado woke up, saw Kirby, saw her leg, and what followed was about two minutes worth of unprintable profanity.

Kirby just stood there. He had no idea what to do. He had never heard so many words he didn't know used consecutively.

After Ado calmed down a bit, Kirby said, "Alright, Ado, hand over the star rod shard!"

Ado replied by telling Kirby to go to some place that he had never heard of.

"Is that where the shard is?" asked Kirby.

"No," Gooey interrupted. "It's a fictional place where dead souls go to burn for all eternity."

"Oh," said Kirby. Then to Ado, "Come on. Give it to me. I know you have it!"

"No I don't!" was Ado's reply. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Don't play dumb with me!" retorted Kirby. "Where are you hiding it?!"

"EAT ME, KIRBY!!!" shouted Ado. "You beat me, now KILL me! Put me out of my misery! I don't have your shard! My life is over! I don't want a slow death! My leg! Kill me now!!!"

Kirby faltered. This was a very convincing show, if it was a show at all. 

"What should I do, Gooey?" asked Kirby into the phone.

"Eat her," replied Gooey in a hopeless tone of voice. "She's right. She's gonna die and she doesn't have the shard. I had the feeling she was of no significance Dark Matter's plot. Kracko must have the shard. Why else would he have been so eager to kill you in Butter Building? This may not have helped you in your quest, but you have accomplished a great deed. You have ridded Grape Garden of its most evil pest. Just eat her, Kirby, and be done. I'll send a maximum tomato over in case she's stale."

After Kirby's experience with the defeated Ado, Kirby and Gooey came to the silent agreement that they would never talk about it again.


	18. The Great Eye

****

Chapter 18: The Great Eye

"Gooey," said Kirby while on the warpstar that was headed for the lair of Kracko, "I haven't been doing much on this 'mission' of mine but battling enemies."

"Things are bound to get more interesting," replied Gooey. "Y'know, not much happens in Grape Garden. What about those cannons that the Poppy Brothers Juniors set up for you? What about that giant war-machine that Meta Knight's creating? What about the fact that some star rod shards are being guarded by hidden bosses? What about all the different powers that you're going to get? What about—"

Kirby interrupted loudly, "WAIT A SECOND! WHO IS META KNIGHT AND WHAT GIANT WAR-MACHINE IS HE CREATING?!"

"Ack!" coughed Gooey. "Forget I said that! Never mind for now! Just watch out for Kracko."

Kracko saw Kirby the moment that Kirby landed. Kirby stepped toward Kracko (who was just an eye) and readied himself for combat. 

"So, you have come again, Star Warrior," said Kracko.

"Yeah," answered Kirby, "and this time you gotta hand over the star rod shard when I beat you."

"Beat me?! You won't even be able to catch me!!!" yelled Kracko and dived into the clouds below it.

Immediately, clouds closed around Kirby and he was trapped in a gigantic hemispherical arena.

Kirby looked around... Where was Kracko? Suddenly, the floor under Kirby started to shake. Kirby jumped aside just in time and Kracko rose out of the floor with cloud still around him like a ghostly blanket. The clouds around Kracko were still attached to the floor and it flew at Kirby, trailing the layer. Kirby dodged and Kracko sank back into the floor. This happened over and over with Kracko trying to ram the ever-dodging Kirby.

Kracko then figured he would never make any headway doing this and it jumped out of the clouds, conjuring the four spikes around itself. Kirby inhaled the spikes and became Needle Kirby! He transformed into a spike ball and Kracko started dropping bombs. Knowing that his spikes could not withstand explosions from bombs as big as these, Kirby inhaled the bombs to become Bomb Kirby! Kracko dropped into the ground again and the battle restarted; except this time, Kirby was trying to hit Kracko with bombs as well as dodge.

The battle was going nowhere fast. No damage had even been dealt, yet. Kracko then decided to start shooting electric beams at Kirby. One of the beams hit a bomb that Kirby had just thrown and both opponents were caught in the explosion! Kirby was hurled against a wall and Kracko was thrown from the floor. 

"Ooooooh, you're good," acknowledged Kracko, "but can you withstand my Waddle Doo army?"

Waddle Doos suddenly started streaming from Kracko's eye. In no time there was a huge multitude of them under it. 

"I notice a flaw in your plan," said Kirby. "Your Waddle Doos are too close together!" Kirby began to inhale. He inhaled all the Waddle Doos and shot them all back at Kracko. They hit it hard and knocked it right out of the sky. 

"Looks like I missed one," said Kirby and sucked in the lone Waddle Doo behind Kracko. Kirby then became Beam Kirby and sliced Kracko through with his electric whip. 

There was a deafening explosion and Kracko flew high into the air. It landed, flaming, back on the floor and started rolling away.

"Come back here!" shouted Kirby and ran after it.

"You sure you want me to?" replied Kracko without the slightest hint of pain.

Immediately, the flames surrounding Kracko died and Kracko shot back into the air. Kracko conjured the four spikes again. Kirby got ready to inhale them, but Kracko wasn't done yet. Each of the spikes became three. Now Kracko had twelve spikes and they circled around it. Then, suddenly, they stopped and attached themselves to the eye. Clouds formed around Kracko and it began to throb with power. Sparks shot from every inch of Kracko as it loomed over Kirby. The battle had only just begun.

Or had it? Kirby made another slice with his beam whip. It hit the clouds surrounding Kracko and a High-Jump Dan popped out. Kirby inhaled it and became High-Jump Kirby. Kracko moved to the top of the dome they were in and Kirby performed a High-Jump. Kracko dodged and Kirby sailed on through the ceiling.

Kirby emerged into the open air. POW! Kracko zapped him from behind and flew into a huge cloud in the distance, which immediately turned dark and stormy.

"Gooey," said Kirby, "should I pursue Kracko into that stormcloud?"

"You don't have a choice, Kirby," replied Gooey.

"Alright," said Kirby quickly so as not to change his mind, "I'm going in!"

Kirby jumped on the warpstar that he had left there earlier and flew toward the black cloud. 

CRACK! Kirby was thrown from the warpstar when a lightning bolt came out of the cloud. He landed back where he had boarded the warpstar.

After getting a maximum tomato from Gooey, Kirby consulted him as to what to do.

"You've obviously got to enter the cloud in a different way," said Gooey. "The cloud reminds me of something. My scanners can't penetrate it. Does that spark anything in your memor—"

"The warp-cannons!" exclaimed Kirby. He flew down below the cloud and, sure enough, there was a warp-cannon and a torch.

"That's it!" shouted Gooey. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," said Kirby as he lit the fuse and entered the warp-cannon. "I'm going in."


	19. At Second Dark

****

Chapter 19: At Second Dark

Kirby appeared in the dark cloud, where he could see nothing but Kracko and the electricity dancing around him. Kracko turned to him.

"I am amazed at your determination," it said. "None have ever followed me into this cloud before. However, I am sure you will not leave it alive.

"I control this entire structure," Kracko continued, "You are inside a room where even the walls can attack you. Resistance is hopeless."

With that, Kirby felt the sting of a spark from the wall behind him. He trashed his High-Jump power, knowing that if he executed it here, he would crash into the ceiling and be fried by lightning.

"Do your worst, Kracko," he egged and hopped on the warpstar that he had secretly brought in with him in his mouth.

Even with the walls, ceiling and floor as additional opponents and the warpstar as a helper, the battle was fairly typical. Kracko shot lots of enemies, bolts of lightning, bombs, cannonballs, and other health hazarding things at Kirby, who would acquire the powers of the enemies and fight back in traditional Kirby style. 

Kirby eventually seemed to be winning. He had dealt more damage than Kracko and the clouds were starting to disperse. Kracko used a seemingly desperate attack of mixing together the electricity of the cloud and one of his bombs into a super bomb! Kirby inhaled it just before it would have exploded and became Crash Kirby. Crash Kirby then did what Crash Kirby would obviously do in a situation like this; he performed Crash. 

The explosion dispersed the clouds instantaneously and left Kirby and Kracko lying on the white clouds below.

Kracko shuddered. It was just an eye now. Kirby watched it and waited for Kracko to announce its defeat. 

"You have fought well, Star Warrior," it said. "You may have beaten me now, but you will never escape your demise."

"WHY DON'T YOU DIE?!!" shouted Kirby, annoyed and disappointed.

Kracko did not answer that question. Instead he replied, "You'll be sorry you messed with me. I will follow you and when I catch you, you will pay. You cannot defeat Dark Matter. You cannot run from your fate. You will lose in the end. I will be after you. Now, run!"

Kracko sank into the clouds and was gone.

Something hit Kirby on the head. He picked it up. It was the third star rod shard! Kracko must have been keeping it in the dark cloud! Kirby ate it. Then he waited for that familiar voice to fill his mind and tell him what he could do now.


	20. Power 4 and Exploration

****

Chapter 20: Power #4 and Exploration

"I will be to the point this time, Star Warrior," the voice in Kirby's head said. "The power you have obtained is the ability to breathe and use your powers underwater. You still have four star rod shards to gather and your acquired power will give you a hint as to where to look next. May you shine forth like a star."

After a relay of this message to Gooey, Gooey answered, "I suppose this means that we're going to Orange Ocean next. I'll send a warpstar."

The warpstar came and carried Kirby to Orange Ocean.

Kirby immediately plunged into the water. He then found a Squishy (a kind of Dreamland squid) and inhaled it.

"This new ability seems pretty straightforward," said Kirby.

"That may be so," replied Gooey, "but traveling in the open ocean isn't going to help us. The shard could be anywhere! My guess is that it's either floating at the top or on the ocean floor. I hope it's at the top, because... well... it's very dark below you and..."

"...and that means that the shard is probably down there somewhere," finished Kirby.

"Darn it," said Gooey in a hopeless tone of voice.

"Well, I'm going down!" said Kirby and dove into the depths.

Down and down Kirby went, occasionally dispatching Floppers, Squishies, Glunks, Blippers, and Coners. Eventually there was little Kirby could see. There was darkness all around him, but he continued to plunge to the seemingly non-existent bottom. Then, he saw a light. The light was deep below him and he swam toward it. He was nearly there when Gooey spoke.

"Be careful, Kirby," Gooey warned. "You are entering the lair of Sweet Stuff the deep sea—"

"—meal," interrupted Kirby.

"No, no!" protested Gooey. "It's a—"

Kirby forcibly closed the connection. He was somehow hypnotized by the light. It was coming close now. He was nearly there...

Suddenly, he touched it. An instant later, he regretted it.


	21. Deep Trouble

****

Chapter 21: Deep Trouble

The light sparked and a giant anglerfish lit up. Sweet Stuff made a snap at Kirby, but Kirby was so scared that he had already started swimming away as fast as he could. 

Kirby immediately found a problem with trying to flee. He found it when a rock was suddenly illuminated in front of him by Sweet Stuff's light ball. There was no light for Kirby to see where he was going and by the time the light showed him what was in front of him, it was too late to avoid a collision. 

Kirby smashed into the stone and Sweet Stuff smashed into Kirby. The rock crumbled away and Kirby (now in a large amount of pain) shot out of there with Sweet Stuff close behind.

The following is what went on in Kirby's head during the few seconds in which he was frantically trying to escape from Sweet Stuff.

__

Oh, no! How do I beat this_ thing? _he thought. _I can't even see some debris on the ocean floor to shoot at him! If I go on like this, I'm sure to be squashed again and I don't think I can withstand another hit like that! Think, Kirby, think!... The light ball!!! I'll just inhale that!_

Unfortunately, Kirby didn't realize the problem with his plan until he executed it. The problem: that "ball of light" was attached to Sweet Stuff's body. 

Kirby inhaled it, just the bulb, but he couldn't swallow because Sweet Stuff was connected to it. Kirby hung on, like a fish on a line, while Sweet Stuff tried to bite him off. Eventually, Sweet Stuff made a huge lunge and Kirby was in his mouth. The problem with _that_ was that Kirby still had the bulb in his mouth. 

Sweet Stuff thrashed around Kirby was flung against the sides of the fish's disgusting maw. Sweet Stuff had his teeth snapped shut, so as not to let Kirby escape. Kirby didn't know how much more he could take of this banging... but right when Kirby felt his strength was about to fail, he heard a ripping noise. Sweet Stuff's tightly clenched teeth had severed the string-like skin that attached the bulb to his head. 

Sweet Stuff let out a scream as he realized what he had done. Kirby swam out of the fish's open mouth, swallowed the bulb and became Light Kirby! Light Kirby then used his one-time-use-only power to make the water transparent and light up the deep. He could see!!!

"Alright, Sweet Stuff, you're goin' down!" yelled Kirby as he inhaled a group of Spikstars from the seafloor and shot them at Sweet Stuff.

Sweet Stuff groaned in pain and, knowing that his only weapon (the bulb) was destroyed, accepted defeat by puking. Out came the star rod shard!!!

Kirby, knowing that he had won, went over to the shard, popped it into his mouth and the voice told him of his next power and destination.


	22. Power 5 and Unexpectation

****

Chapter 22: Power #5 and Unexpectation

"Gooey," said Kirby a little while later, "my new power is to... flatten myself."

"Huh?" replied Gooey.

"To duck," clarified Kirby, "but since my head is almost my whole body, I can duck by flattening myself against the ground."

"Ah," replied Gooey. "Well, I'm sure that will come in handy at some point."

"Whatever," said Kirby, clearly disappointed that his new power wasn't cooler. "I'm comin' back to the surface. Supposedly this ocean's harbor is where I'm supposed to go next. I only need three more shards."

After closing the connection, Kirby began swimming upwards.

Eventually, Kirby could see a fish above him. It was larger than the types of fish he had faced so far (not counting Sweet Stuff). When Kirby was close enough to see it in detail, it suddenly shouted, "Watch out! Acro's behind you!"

Kirby, surprised by the fish, looked down. A gigantic killer whale was speeding towards him. Kirby swam upwards as fast a he could, but Acro kept gaining. 

"Quick! Jump in here!" shouted the fish and opened its mouth wide.

"I'm not going to let you eat me!!!" yelled Kirby.

"I'm not going to eat you!" the fish yelled back. "I'm going to save you! I can swim much faster than you!"

"Fat chance!" screamed Kirby. "I'm not gonna be a morsel for a cute blue fish like you!"

"Fine!" answered the fish. "But I'm your only hope! If you refuse, Acro will tear you apart!!!"

Acro was getting quite close now and Kirby's legs and arms were getting tried. He weighed his chances and chose a ride in the fish's mouth.

He jumped in and immediately felt his pace accelerate. He was going so fast that he was flattening unintentionally. He looked down at Acro. Acro was still slowly gaining. Kirby could see Acro's features more closely with every second. Kirby could see a cut on Acro's side. Then he could see the deep wrinkles in Acro's forehead. Then the deep blue color of Acro's eyes. Acro opened his mouth wide showing razor-sharp bloodstained teeth. Faster! Faster!! Faster!!!

Acro was four inches away! Three inches!! Two inches!!! One in– POW! They were out of the water. Shooting up into the sky followed by Acro. Kirby could feel, as though in slow motion, the speed of ascent decreasing. Kirby knew that when they stopped, they would fall right back down into Acro's waiting jaws.

BAM! A warpstar came out of the sky and rammed into Kirby, sending the fish flying. Kirby was safe!

"Nice timing, Gooey," said Kirby. "I thought I was a goner."

"Don't you know I'd never let you fall?" Gooey replied. "Nice heartbeat by the way. I've never heard faster or louder."

Kirby tried to calm himself, but in the end there was no need, for completely filling the Orange Ocean Harbor was something that had cannons big enough to stop anyone's heart.


	23. Heavy Artillery

****

Chapter 23: Heavy Artillery

Docked in Orange Ocean Harbor was an aircraft... of some sort. It could clearly be used as a ship as well, though the _type_ of ship it was was a mystery to Kirby. 

"What is it?" said Kirby.

It was painted black. Its center was marginally spherical in shape and its front was elongated into a long nose. It had wings like a bat's. Also, I've said in the previous chapter that it was filling the entire harbor. Orange Ocean Harbor was the biggest harbor in Dreamland, so the thing had to be **huge**. Not only that, it had cannons completely surrounding its outer edge and a giant one on top.

"It's called the Halberd," replied Gooey. "Sah-koor-eye warned me about this. He said that Meta Knight—"

"WHO IS META KNIGHT?!!"

"I have no clue. His past, and real name, are shrouded in mystery. All I know is that he's the leader of something called the Meta Clan, a group of metal warriors that will stop at nothing to gain power."

"Sounds like a weirdo to me."

"I imagine he is one. Anyway, he's going to use this thing to take over Dreamland in some way. Seems rather pointless to me, Dark Matter's got everything under control. At least, Dark Matter's soon to be controlling everything if you don't stop him. Your current job is to get onto that ship and destroy it. Oh, and there must be a shard on it somewhere."

"Say no more. Time's a-wastin'. They're taking off."

"Uh, Kirby, I have one more thing to say. Since the Halberd is such a huge electrical thing, I may be able to tap into its security system and communications system."

"Go ahead."

"Already did. I had gone ahead and done it while I was talking about Dark Matter. I was just asking to make sure it was okay with you. For a test, I'll let you hear what went over their communications just before and during the takeoff. Here ya go!"

Strange voices were coming out of the phone. Kirby listened...

"Reactor 1, output normal," said one voice.

"Adjust the balancer to ...0003!" said another.

"Let's raise the anchor," said yet another.

"Check anti-gravity plant. 1, 2, 3, OK!!" The voices were never the same and were not making sense.

"Release the sails, solar level, 288!" said a fifth voice.

Then suddenly, an icy cold voice spoke and Kirby shivered. This must be Meta Knight. "The time has come," said the cold voice. "The time to show our power! Dreamland's lazy lifestyle will end! I will rule!"

"I'll bet that last one was Meta Knight," said Gooey, after it was over.

"Duh," replied Kirby. "His voice was extremely evil and he said he was going to 'rule'. Who else could it have been?"

Kirby was flying toward the Halberd when Gooey said quickly, "I'm receiving another conversation. From now on, all will be heard immediately on your phone."

Before Kirby could respond, a voice cut in, "—heading towards us."

Kirby knew he was listening in on the Meta Clan and that they were referring to him as what was "heading towards them".

The voices continued, "Oh, my gosh! What are we gonna do?"

"He'll get in the way. Get rid of him!"

"Sir Meta Knight, what shall we do?" said a squawking voice that Kirby knew would finalize who was Meta Knight.

Sure enough, the cold voice replied, "Soldiers near the deck, assume combat mode!"

Kirby almost felt sorry that he was going to tear through Meta Knight's troops. They had gone through so much trouble...

That was when the Halberd started firing.


	24. Shot Down

****

Chapter 24: Shot Down

Kirby turned vertical just in time. The warpstar shook under the barrage of cannon fire. 

Kirby yelled into his phone, "They're shooting at me! What do I do?!!"

"WHAT?!" answered Gooey.

"THEY'RE SHOOTING AT ME!!!"

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! THEIR SHOOTING AT YOU IS TOO LOUD!!!!!"

"Just great," said Kirby and terminated the connection.

Kirby flew the warpstar above the Halberd so that he would no longer have to be hanging from a vertical surface. This was a mistake. The giant cannon on top of the Halberd locked onto Kirby and launched a giant bomb at him.

The explosion threw Kirby from the warpstar and he landed on the front deck of the Halberd. Hurt, but not badly, Kirby got up and got ready to fight. 

There they were, the "soldiers". Kirby inhaled a Meta Blade and became Sword Kirby! Kirby used his Sword ability to slice and dice his way through the "soldiers". Soon, they were running away. Kirby chased after them. They were all piling through a large entryway. Kirby ran as fast as he could, but just as the last one got through, a metal panel slid itself over the opening. Kirby was blocked! 

Kirby banged on the door. Then he tried slicing it with his sword, but he just broke his sword and lost the ability. Inhaling didn't work either.

All was quiet.

Then more voices came from the phone.

"Kirby's been locked out!"

"That sure was close."

"Captain, this may be as good a time as any to ask you what our plan is."

"I'll conquer Dreamland with the Halberd!" said the squawker and Kirby almost laughed at the fact that the "squawker" was the captain.

"How? Dark Matter has already done so."

Captain: "Yes. Sir Meta Knight, what exactly is your plan?"

Meta Knight: "Dark Matter has already corrupted almost all the major powers in Dreamland. With the Halberd, we will be able to eliminate all those that remain. Then, we will destroy Dark Matter and claim our title as saviors. With our newly gained respect, we will alienate King Dedede and use the Halberd to perform a hostile takeover."

People cheered.

"By powers you mean like Kracko, right?"

Captain: "Yeah, I'd just love fry that eye once and for all!"

Meta Knight: "Then it's settled. Our first target... Grape Garden!"

More people cheered.

"Those idiots!" exclaimed Gooey. "You cannot destroy Dark Matter with pure wrath and fire! Without the star rod, a battle like that would destroy Dreamland!!! Kirby, you must stop this at all costs!"

"Okaaaaaay," replied Kirby, "but I need to get through this d—"

"Kirby," interjected Gooey, "something just occurred to me. I was reminded of it by that conversation."

"Yeah?"

"Was the pupil of Kracko's eye a slit?"

"No!" Kirby's eyes widened.

"I wonder why Dark Matter hasn't gotten to Kracko yet. Either that or Kracko and Dark Matter have worked out some sort of deal. Hmm..."

"Uh, Gooey, I hate to interrupt," interrupted Kirby, "but could you get me a warpstar through this door?"

"Well, are you on the outside of the ship?"

"Yeah."

"Then I can, but I can only take you through the door. You see, if a warpstar goes into as big a machine as this, it is bound to destroy something and I'm sure you don't want everything you touch to explode. That would kill you. The destruction of the Halberd must be done in a different fashion. I'll send the warpstar."


	25. Passage Granted

****

Chapter 25: Passage Granted

The warpstar arrived moments later, smashed through the door, disappeared and left its cargo on the floor. Kirby thankfully ate the maximum tomato and entered inside the Halberd.

Over the phone, "Kirby's inside! What now?"

Captain: "I have an idea. We'll confuse him. Open up all valves and ducts."

Kirby then heard what sounded like thousands of doors, etc. unlocking and/or opening. He went into the next room and there were about ten doors, passages and tunnels to choose from. He entered the one just across from him: a valve. This was a big mistake. When he came out, he heard more voices on the phone.

"Kirby's in the rocket valve!"

"No! He's actually behind the nozzle!"

"Fix him!"

"Prepare secondary stage of take off! Blow Kirby away!"

"OK! Main engine ignition!"

Suddenly, the breeze around Kirby got a little stronger.

Captain: "Go!"

A powerful wind hit Kirby and flung him into the air, away from the Halberd.

Kirby quickly shouted into the phone, "Gooey! Warpstar! Now!"

The ground was coming up fast.

"NOW!" Kirby shouted. "NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!"

He was falling too fast to inflate. He was feeling the heat of the atmospheric friction. The ground was nearly upon him...

"Gotcha!" yelled Gooey as a warpstar saved Kirby an instant before he would have become just another meteorite gone wrong.

The voices on the phone continued.

"Kirby's not dead! Something caught him!"

Captain: [censored]

"He's flying back toward us!"

"Main cannon's ready. Shall we blast him?"

Captain: "All right. Shoot him!" 

__

Oh, no. Not again, thought Kirby as the cannon unleashed another bomb. However, Kirby had had a lot of practice by now at dodging on a warpstar and managed to get close enough to the Halberd to board it before the cannon shot him.

"We shot down Kirby's craft!"

"Look! He's back onboard!"

Meta Knight: "Remain calm. Let's come up with a plan."

Captain: "All soldiers! Get Kirby. Now!"

After battling his way through more "soldiers", Kirby reached a door. He entered. The door closed behind him and locked. Kirby looked up and saw two figures on a ledge above him.

One was as short as Kirby and wearing a blue cape. That figure had its back to Kirby. The other was a large pelican over three times the size of Kirby that was facing him and wearing a captain's uniform. Kirby immediately realized that they were Meta Knight and the captain, respectively.

Meta Knight: "Kirby! Got ya!"

Captain: "Now you'll get a taste of our power."

A door opened behind them and they retreated into it. It closed after them. Then it opened again and the Meta Clan came out. They each used the cliché of saying their names as they entered.

"Meta Axe!"

"Meta Sword!"

"Meta Blade!"

"Meta Lance!"

"Meta Chain!"

"Meta Drone!"

Kirby tried inhaling them, but he couldn't. Without any power, how the heck would Kirby beat the Meta Clan when outnumbered six to one?


	26. Not Quite a Mole

****

Chapter 26: Not Quite a Mole

Meta Lance shot at Kirby. Kirby dodged and was poked in the back by Meta Drone. Kirby jumped and Meta Sword made a slice under his arm. Kirby tumbled out of the way and Meta Chain smashed him with his mace. 

It went on like this for over a minute. Kirby was getting increasingly beat-up and increasingly annoyed that there was no way for him to beat these seemingly invincible foes.

Suddenly, the head of a creature appeared in the middle of the floor. Everyone jumped back and stared. It took Kirby a few seconds to realize that the hamster had somehow tunneled his way into this arena. Kirby inhaled, but the hamster just held out a bit of sparking wire and that went in Kirby's mouth instead. The hamster rushed back down the hole saying, "You'll thank me later!" and the hole resealed itself. 

Silence.

Kirby swallowed the wire to become Spark Kirby! Kirby jumped at the Meta Clan and a green orb of sparks surrounded him. The orb fried Meta Axe. Kirby started jumping around using his power. The Meta Clan eventually decided to retreat. Back through the door they went, leaving Kirby alone in the room again.

Kirby was thinking about the hamster. It had saved him. If only it had given him some food as well. He needed something to heal his wounds. 

The door that the Meta Clan had left through had not been locked. Kirby followed through it. 

The Meta Clan was on the phone again.

"We failed, Sir."

Captain: "Sir Meta Knight, your troops lack defensive–"

Meta Knight: "That was disgraceful, troops. What have I told you? If you truly focus your powers, nothing is unreachable."

"We're sorry, Boss– I mean Sir."

"Sir, check the screen! Kirby's gonna reach the top deck!"

Kirby stopped. They had him monitored this whole time.

Captain: "Switch the door locks! Open the upper duct! Direct him to the front of the twin cannon!"

Kirby tried all the doors in the next room, but found them all to be locked. The only open passage was a tube on the ceiling. Kirby inflated and entered it. 

He winded through passageways for many minutes. When he finally surfaced, he was outside on the top of the Halberd.

"Kirby has arrived at the twin cannon!"

Meta Knight: "Perfect. Our auto-defense system will crush him."

Captain: "Kirby will be torched! Wahahahahahahahaha!"

In front of Kirby was the biggest cannon he had ever seen.


	27. Combating Combo Cannon

****

Chapter 27: Combating Combo Cannon

A metal panel slid across the opening of the duct that Kirby had just come out of. There was no escape. Suddenly, a warpstar flew in front of Kirby and disappeared.

"I thought you might need this," said Gooey as Kirby ate the maximum tomato the warpstar had just deposited in front of him, "but I can't help you with Combo Cannon, you'll just have to find a way to destroy it. I can tell you this though, that Spark power you have will not damage it."

Kirby got rid of the spark power and readied himself for combat. The cannon, however, was turning away from him, pointing into the clouds. Before Kirby could fathom why, a large amount of electricity surged through his body. Kirby now knew why it was called "Combo Cannon" and "the twin cannon". The cannon was actually made up of three parts. A giant-sized cannonball-firing cannon, a huge laser cannon, and what looked like some sort of attack hand. The laser cannon was what had just zapped Kirby.

Just then, the "attack hand" started throwing bombs at Kirby, who ate them to become Bomb Kirby! Kirby started throwing bombs at the laser cannon. The bombs were damaging it, but it had started charging up. It unleashed a stream of powerful current through the air. Kirby dodged and it tried to turn fast enough to hit him. Kirby kept dodging and the cannon kept missing. When Kirby was getting pretty confident with his laser-dodging skills, something grabbed him. He tried to turn around, but the "attack hand" had immobilized him from the back. He struggled, but the hand simply held him in front of the laser cannon, which fired, scoring a direct hit. The hit blasted Kirby out of the hand's grip, but had hurt, **a lot**. 

Kirby struggled to get up. He had miraculously retained his Bomb power. Since he couldn't get up, he got out a bomb and put it in his mouth. Just before the laser cannon was about to fire, he shot the bomb at it. The laser cannon exploded into a million flaming pieces. The force of the explosion destroyed the "attack hand" as well.

Gooey was on the phone, "Kirby, I'll be sending maximum tomatoes every so often while you're outside. You may need them."

The maximum tomato that arrived a few seconds later saved Kirby's life.

"Sir, Kirby's destroyed the laser and hand components of the twin cannon."

Captain: "No matter. He will never stand a chance against the giant cannon."

"Sir, the giant cannon has locked onto something."

Suddenly, the giant cannon started firing into the clouds and a familiar voice boomed across the sky.


	28. Snap! Kracko! Pop!

****

Chapter 28: Snap! Kracko! Pop!

"Who dares to disturb my thunder?!" called Kracko from the clouds.

Meta Knight's voice was amplified as he shouted back, "It is Meta Clan and their warship. We demand your surrender."

The clouds parted and out came Kracko surrounded by that strange cloud garment of its. "Fools!" Kracko replied. "You cannot defeat me! Now leave! If you do not, I will destroy your 'warship'."

"Surrender or die!" retorted Meta Knight.

"So be it," said Kracko and unleashed a torrent of lightning. The lightning went down to the Halberd and suddenly veered off to the nose where it was absorbed by something that was shaped like a horseshoe. 

"What the..." began Kracko.

"You see," explained Meta Knight, "we thought of your thunderbolts and created a magnet that absorbs them and converts them into power for our ship. Not only that, we also have more than enough soldiers to wipe out any minions you deploy. Furthermore..."

At this point, Kirby was distracted by his phone.

Captain: "Fire the giant cannon again! Now!"

Kracko was blasted from its cloud garment by a huge cannonball that hit it right in the eye. The cloud garment hung there for a few seconds, looking like a big spiky doughnut, and then disintegrated. Kracko shot back into the clouds and reemerged a few seconds later with its cloud garment on again.

"Not bad," it said, "but how about some of this?!"

Kracko shot cannonballs down at the Halberd, but they were just shot out of the sky by the Halberd's cannons.

"You see, Kracko," said Meta Knight calmly and smugly, "you cannot harm us, but we can harm you. We have thought up every attack you might use and armed this ship with a way to counter it. Why don't you just give up while you're still alive?"

Kracko did not move. It just floated there as if stunned.

Silence.

"You want to destroy me, don't you?" said Kracko.

"Yes," replied Meta Knight, "and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

"Maybe not..." said Kracko slowly, "but if there is nothing I can do to escape my death at your hands, then..." Kracko suddenly shouted, "I'm taking you down with me!!!"

Kracko went into a dive. It was headed straight for the Halberd. Kirby watched Kracko's path with horror. If the Halberd exploded, Kirby would be taken with it and even if he got away, the star rod shard would be lost forever! 

"No! Kracko stop!" Meta Knight shouted.

Then voices came over the phone again.

Meta Knight: "The eye's not stopping!"

Captain: "With all the electricity in that cloud it's wearing, Kracko will rip through the Halberd like tissue paper, causing it to explode while Kracko's inside!"

Meta Knight: "Meta Drone, is there any way to prevent this?"

Meta Drone: "We could activate the mirrors and fire the laser cannon. The problem is that Kirby already destroyed the laser cannon!"

Captain: [censored]

Meta Knight: "Please tell me there's a plan B. The must be..."

Meta Drone: "There isn't. We spent so much time preparing for Kracko and Dark Matter that we were unprotected against a Star Warrior interference." 

Silence.

Meta Knight: "Then... we lost... it's over..."

"Gooey," said Kirby, "get me a warpstar, now."


	29. Eye Mind

****

Chapter 29: Eye Mind

"Hey, Kracko! Over here!"

Kracko looked up, saw Kirby, and stopped itself from hitting the Halberd a split second before it would have collided. 

"Ah, Star Warrior!" said Kracko. "Your timing is impeccable. You shall die with this ship!"

"No!" retorted Kirby. "I'm here to stop you!"

"What happened?"

"Why did Kracko stop?"

"Look! It's Kirby!"

Meta Knight: "Why did he save us? He would have had two foes gone in an instant, but instead he intervened. There must be some secret about Kirby that I have yet to learn."

At this point, Kirby and Kracko began to fight. There is no need to share the details, but Kirby did smile when he heard the continuing voices on the phone.

"Whoa!"

"So fast!"

"Are we really supposed to beat this guy?"

"How can he have so much power?"

"Now there's something you _really_ don't want to get in your eye!"

Captain: "Sir Meta Knight, what should we do?"

Meta Knight: "We use the giant cannon to take a shot at both of them."

Kirby's smile disappeared.

Captain: "Sir, he just saved our lives. We're going to repay the favor by killing him? Have you no honor?"

Meta Knight: "I, Captain, have more honor than you can fathom. Have you ever wondered why Kirby saved us? There must be some plan of his that has to do with the Halberd. He wants us dead, but he must not want the Halberd destroyed. Killing him would solve this little problem. Besides, this is our best chance. If we can hit both of them while they're off guard, we'll kill two birds with one stone. Fire the cannon now!"

Captain: "Fire the giant cannon at Kirby and Kracko!"

BANG! The cannon fired.

Kirby dodged.

Kracko was blasted from its cloud garment yet again by yet another cannonball to the eye.

Kracko shot away into the distance, far, far away.

"We got Kracko!!!"

Meta Knight: "Quick, do a scan for any large, living, electrical organisms in Dreamland."

"Hey, that's some scanner," said Gooey. "I thought mine was the only one with that much power."

Meta Drone: "Nope, we killed it. Kracko's gone."

__

He's gone? thought Kirby. _He's actually gone? Wow, no more Kracko._

Kirby landed on the left wing of the Halberd and stood there, stunned. Kracko was gone. He never thought it would be so easy.


	30. Claustrophobia

****

Chapter 30: Claustrophobia

"Uh, Sir, you'd better have a look at this."

Captain: [censored]

Meta Knight: "Their battle... it..."

Meta Drone: "Damage to the nose, approximately 38%."

"That's bad."

"Wow, this place is deserted," remarked Kirby at the state of the left wing. "Doesn't anyone ever hang out in the wings?"

"I guess not," replied Gooey.

What followed was a silence in which Kirby just wandered around aimlessly.

"Hey!" shouted Gooey, making Kirby jump. "I've got an idea! If nobody inhabits the left wing, then we can just destroy it! It should be safe to just rip through a _wing_ with a warpstar without it exploding on you! I'll send one over with a maximum tomato!"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely! I'm always sure."

Kirby got on the warpstar and voices came over the phone.

"Uh, Sir, you'd better have a look at this too."

Captain: "What's happening to it?"

Meta Knight: "It must be Kirby, destroying it from the inside!"

"The wing! It's being smashed!"

"What do we do?!"

"Oh... it's horrible!"

Kirby exited the left wing.

"It stopped."

"The left wing is wrecked!"

Meta Drone: "Serious damage to the left wing! Approximately 74%!"

Captain: [censored]

"We're gonna lose balance!"

Meta Knight: "Lower the sail! Increase right wing power!"

Kirby landed safely on the innermost part of the wing and entered a duct.

"Captain, Kirby's entered the duct that connects the two wings."

Captain: "Perfect. Seal off the exits and activate the heating panels."

Heating panels! Kirby tuned back, but a metal panel had already slid over the exit. The floor was getting slightly warm. Kirby scrambled around, trying to find some means of escape. Kirby tried flying and staying on the ceiling one inch above him, but the ceiling and walls were getting warm too! Kirby pulled out his phone, but in an electrical duct such as this, the electricity interfered with the reception. The surfaces were getting hot now. Kirby started running as fast as he could away from the exit in a last-hope attempt to locate an open exit. He was running and running. Everything was getting hotter and hotter. Kirby's feet were starting to burn. His eyes were darting in every which way. He was going insane. He was going to die in this furnace-tube. Suddenly, the duct was cooling. How was this happening?

A voice shouted up the duct, "Sorry I took so long! There was quite a lot of wiring to destroy in order to disengage those heaters!"

Kirby recognized that voice... whose was it? Kirby suddenly remembered! It was the voice of the hamster that had saved him in his battle with the Meta Clan!!! It must be watching and helping him. Kirby's next question was where was it from?

Kirby got out into the right wing as quickly as possible.

Captain: "What? Why did the heating stop? Why did the exits open again? What happened?!"

"Some sort of connection failure occurred."

"Oh, that darn internet!"

"No, it was a wiring problem in the power grid. We are no longer **connected **to the wings."

Captain: [censored]

"Cool it with the swearing, Cap."

"Uh, Sir, Captain, there is something we forgot to tell you about our match against Kirby."

Meta Knight: "What?"

"In our match against Kirby, a hamster saved him."

Meta Knight: "A hamster, you say?"

"Yes."

Meta Knight: "Captain, we have a spy, a mole."

Captain: [censored]

"I said to cool it with the swearing!"

"Actually, he's not a mole. We told you. He's a hams—"

Meta Knight: "I meant it figuratively, you lack-wit! Get on the search, Meta Drone. As the electrician and technical expert, you should be able to find _something_."

Meta Drone: "I'll get right on it."

Captain: "In the meantime, I have another plan. I think it's time to bring out the heavy artillery."

"You mean the secret weapon?"

Captain: "Yes! Steel seafood is just what we need to get rid of that puffball."


	31. Even Heavier Artillery

****

Chapter 31: Even Heavier Artillery

Kirby entered the right wing with a feeling of foreboding. What was this steel seafood that they were talking about?

Captain: "Ready?"

"Is this OK, Sir?"

"Are you positive about this?"

Captain: "Be quiet! This is our only chance! Release Heavy Lobster!"

Kirby was wondering what Heavy Lobster was until it crashed down behind him. It was a gigantic robotic lobster complete with an array of weapons that included a flamethrower.

Heavy Lobster used his flamethrower, but Kirby had already started running away. Heavy Lobster chased after Kirby, destroying everything it touched. Kirby was running and running, but Heavy Lobster activated his jets and started to catch up.

Captain: "Yes! Heavy Lobster, GET KIRBY!"

"Oh no, our battleship is being destroyed..."

Captain: "That's not important now! Go ahead, Heavy Lobster! Destroy! DESTROY!"

"Gooey!" Kirby shouted into the phone. "Get me a warpstar out of here!"

"Not a good idea," Gooey replied. "I'll bet anything that that lobster has the fifth star rod shard and you don't want to lose it. You'll have to find a different way to defeat it."

Kirby closed the connection. He had gotten an idea. 

Kirby started to turn and weave around until that following lobster had destroyed an arena-like circle in the wing.

Kirby turned and faced Heavy Lobster. Heavy Lobster turned and faced Kirby.

Suddenly, Heavy Lobster unleashed an army of mini metal lobsters. Kirby, however, just sucked them all up and shot them at Heavy Lobster, who sustained heavy damage. Then, Heavy Lobster opened up one of its claws and out popped a small orange blob. Kirby stared at it. The blob started to bubble. The blob popped and a strange cloud of gas now hung in the air. Heavy Lobster released more mini metal lobsters and Kirby sucked them up, but as he did so, he inhaled the gas as well. Kirby suddenly felt his mouth tightening up. He tried to open his mouth, but he couldn't. There was some sort of sticky stuff that was keeping his mouth shut. Kirby tried to inhale, he tried and tried. Without his powers, he was a sitting duck. 

"Gmmmeh!" Kirby attempted to speak through the phone, "How boo uh gep muh muff opmmm?!"

"What?!" replied Gooey.

"Hup muh!"

"What?!"

At this point, Kirby was smacked in the back with one of Heavy Lobster's claws. He flopped over on the ground and Heavy Lobster picked him up. Kirby struggled, but he could not escape Heavy Lobster's grip. Heavy Lobster charged up its flamethrower and blasted Kirby full in the face. Even through Kirby's flaming pain Heavy Lobster held him fast. 

Kirby suddenly remembered something: his most recently acquired power! He flattened his body and wriggled out of Heavy Lobster's claw.

"Ha, HA!" Kirby yelled and then he stopped and smiled. He could open his mouth again. The effects of that gas must not have been permanent.

Heavy Lobster, however, produced another of those blobs, which stated to bubble. Kirby inhaled the blob and swallowed, hoping to be able to use that gas attack on Heavy Lobster to prevent it from using its weapons. Instead, he became Paint Kirby! Paint Kirby then activated his one-time-use-only power to completely cover the entire arena and Heavy Lobster with a strange goop.

Voices suddenly burst over the phone.

"Oh no! Heavy Lobster's blind!"

Captain: "WHAT?! _Paint_ ability?!"

"It's no good. He can't see at all!"

Captain: "Unbelievable! Kirby's still alive!"

Heavy Lobster spun around a couple of times and torched its surroundings with its flamethrower, but Kirby was nowhere near it. Heavy Lobster released lots of mini metal lobsters and Kirby sucked them all up. Kirby spat them back out at Heavy Lobster and it flipped over. Heavy Lobster was now completely helpless. The great machine was upside-down, blind, and very badly damaged. Pieces of Heavy Lobster started falling off. Kirby inhaled the one that contained the flamethrower to become Fire Kirby! Fire Kirby torched what was left of Heavy Lobster and reduced it to a pile of smoldering rubbish.

Kirby reached in and pulled out the fifth piece of the star rod!


	32. Power 6 and Experimentation

****

Chapter 32: Power #6 and Experimentation

Kirby hastily ate the star rod shard and that gentle informative voice spoke again.

"Star Warrior," the voice said, "you are not as near to the end of your travels as you might think. Many difficulties lie ahead. Be careful. Your new power is to combine abilities in pairs to create combo abilities, however, you cannot do this with ones that are one-or-three-time-use-only. The next star rod shard is located in Big Forest. May you shine forth like a star."

Kirby relayed this message to Gooey and entered inside the Halberd to try it out. As usual, the voices on the phone had a lot to say.

"Kirby has destroyed Heavy Lobster and there has been major damage to the right wing!"

Captain: "Don't worry! We've regained our balance."

"Thank you for not swearing, Cap."

Meta Knight: "Open the cages! Release the creature swarm! He won't get far."

Kirby heard clanging up ahead. Suddenly, a pig-like thing jumped out in front of him. Kirby fried it with the Fire ability he still had and rounded the corner.

Enemies were streaming from everywhere. _Perfect,_ thought Kirby. _Now I can do some great power experimentation!_

Kirby inhaled the first enemy to come close. It was a Punc. Kirby combined the Punc's needle ability with the flamethrower's fire ability to become Fire Arrow Kirby! A flaming arrow poked out of Kirby's mouth. Kirby took aim and shot many arrows into the crowd. Each one plowed through multiple creatures and left behind a trail of fire.

Kirby trashed the Fire Arrow power and inhaled a Sir Kibble to become Cutter Kirby! Cutter Kirby sliced through a Mite, a Waddle Dee and a Bronto Burt. Cutter Kirby then inhaled a Sparky to combine its spark ability with Sir Kibble's cutter ability and become Chainsaw Kirby! Kirby got out his chainsaw and tore through the creatures hacking and slicing them to bloody bits. Kirby swung his chainsaw around and the 12 surrounding creatures became 24 creature halves.

Kirby trashed the Chainsaw power. He then inhaled a Cairn and a Waddle Doo to combine rock and beam. Kirby became Electric-Wrecking-Ball Kirby! Kirby now had a rock on the end of an electric chain that he swung around smashing enemies with. Kirby swung it around and around sending creatures flying left and right.

Kirby trashed that power too. He then inhaled a Chilly and Frigis. However, they both had the ice power so Kirby combined two ice abilities to become Huge Snowball Kirby! Kirby rolled up into a huge snowball and rolled around the arena that he was in. Enemies were pulled into his snowball making it bigger and bigger. Eventually it got so full that it exploded, shooting the trapped creatures in every direction. The creatures flew like projectiles and smashed into other enemies.

Kirby trashed that power, inhaled a Bobo, inhaled a Skud and combined their Fire and Bomb abilities to become Firework Kirby! Kirby jumped up and exploded into brilliant colors, blowing up nearby enemies and setting those farther away on fire. Kirby did it again and again. More and more creatures were getting blasted.

Kirby trashed _that_ power and inhaled two Galbos to combine their fire abilities and become Comet Kirby! Kirby turned into a flaming comet that went shooting through the creatures, smashing into them and frying them to ashes. Around and around he went, destroying everything he came in contact with.

Kirby slowed down and stopped. He trashed the Comet power and looked for another creature to inhale. There wasn't one. He had wiped them all out.

Kirby wished he had had a mirror through all of that. He must have gotten some pretty interesting hats.


	33. This Claimer

****

Chapter 33: This Claimer

Hello, readers, it's me, the author of this story. I have a few things to say about the story and how it is related to the Kirby games.

****

1. There is no game that features Kirby going up against Dark Matter with the star rod. In **Kirby's Dreamland 2**, Kirby killed Dark Matter with the rainbow sword and in **Kirby's Adventure**, Kirby killed Nightmare with the star rod. My story does not exactly follow the games.

****

2. This is about Kirby's most-recently-acquired power: the ability to combine abilities like he could in **Kirby 64**. Obviously, since Kirby can get so many more original powers in my story, this will lead to a gigantic amount of abilities that Kirby can use. However, not all of them are the same as in **Kirby 64**. For instance, Spark + Cutter does not give Kirby the Chainsaw ability in **Kirby 64**. Furthermore, it is Spark + Stone, not Beam + Stone that, in **Kirby 64**, gives him the Electric-Wrecking-Ball ability. As you can see, my story is different from the game.

****

3. In the games, Gooey is definitely NOT the CEO of a company. Gooey appeared in **Kirby's Dreamland 3** as player 2. In the game, Gooey was a dopey friend and follower of Kirby. In case you can't already tell, MY STORY IS _DIFFERENT_ FROM THE GAMES!!!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Kirby or any of the characters in this story (so far), but I do own much of the storyline and such, so, do not rip me off!

Thank you. Stay tuned for some more explaining. This time it will be done by Gooey.

"Kirby," said Gooey. "I have an updated list of the abilities you can acquire without using your combining power."

"Yeah?" replied Kirby.

"Here's the list," said Gooey. "Cutter, Beam, Sword, Spark, Fire, Stone, High-Jump, Bomb, Ice, Fighter, Needle and Hammer. Then there are some one-time-use-only abilities that you cannot combine with others. They are Crash, Light and Paint. There are probably more of each list, but you have yet to find them."

"Okay," acknowledged Kirby. "By the way, where should I be going now?"

"Well," replied Gooey, "you can't leave without first destroying the Halberd."

"Why not?"

"Your mission is to save Dreamland, remember? Destroying this thing is part of your mission. It must be, because if you leave it around, Dreamland will not be safe!"

"Okay, but how am I supposed to destroy it?"

"You need to get inside and blow up the reactor core. This will deprive the Halberd of the power it needs to stay aloft. There must be an entrance on the underside. I'll send a warpstar to take you to there and I'll send with it a maximum tomato. All that battling must have hard."

"Thanks. Let's destroy this thing and get out of here."


	34. Reactor Reactions

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Chapter 34: Reactor Reactions

"Kirby is now underneath the ship!"

Captain: "The bottom's weak... the wind is too strong."

"It's too cold."

"I'm afraid of heights!" 

"No way! I ain't goin'."

Captain: "You chickens!"

Meta Knight: "Release the aerial squadron! Blast him out of the sky!"

"Aerial squadron is released, Sir."

"What's Kirby doing?"

"He's tilting vertical!"

"I know that, but what I'm wondering is why."

"Oh, no! The squadron!"

"How did he just blast right through them?!"

"It must be his flying machine."

"That thing's too strong; the squadron can't withstand collisions with it."

"Dang! Now Kirby's inside!"

"He's heading toward the reactor core!"

"If we lose power, we're doomed!"

Captain: "Relax. The reactor can't be defeated!"

Meta Drone: "Kirby has arrived at the reactor core."

"What's he doing? There's nothing for him to inhale."

"The idiot's trying to inhale the power core!"

"Good thing that core's stuck there with magnetic fields."

"What?! How'd he get that sparky hat?!"

Meta Knight: "He must have inhaled some of the electric current around the core, but no matter. Electric attacks will do nothing to the reactor."

"Correction, they're do**ing** nothing to the reactor."

Meta Drone: "The auto-defense system has locked onto Kirby."

Captain: "Perfect! Kirby won't stand a chance!"

"Look! The cannon's charging up!"

"Kirby must know. He's on top of the cannon. It can't shoot him there."

"Why'd the cannon shoot? It couldn't hit Kirby."

"It can't store all that energy. When it charges up, it has to fire."

"Kirby's on the floor again, but he's not moving. What's he doing."

"Maybe he's just trying to think of how to destroy the reactor."

Captain: "Sorry, Kirby. There is no way that you can even do it damage."

"Whoa!"

"Nice reflexes."

"He almost got torched!"

Captain: "Whoever came up with the idea for that flamethrower in the ground deserves a raise."

"Watch Kirby! He's inhaling the fire!"

"Hey! How'd his sparky hat turn into a piece of plexiglass?"

"It must be a new power."

"Why is he rubbing it against his head?"

"He's creating sparks, but he'd better be careful. Too much of that rubbing and the friction will cause his head to—"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kirby screamed and started running around like crazy.

"—catch on fire!"

"Oh! Nasty!"

Captain: "Roasted marshmallow, anyone?"

Meta Knight: "The core is resistant to fire as well. Kirby is only hurting himself."

"The fire's out! The plexiglass disappeared as well!"

Captain: "Here comes the laser gun!"

"How can Kirby suddenly know everything that's happening without even seeing it? It's puzzling."

"The laser got him!"

"He thought he was so cool with his dodging skills, but the laser reflected off the wall and hit him in the back!"

Captain: "That laser works well, doesn't it?"

"All the components are now attacking at once!"

Captain: "Looks like Kirby can't stand the heat!"

"Whoa! That was close! One of the lasers almost reflected into the core!"

"Who designed the auto-defense system for the reactor, anyway? Those lasers are of too high a frequency. They can destroy the power core!"

"What?! Kirby's flying in front of the core! Do you think he knows that the lasers can hurt it? This is bad."

"The reactor's taken a hit!"

Captain: [censored]

"I agree."

Captain: "How could he know?!"

Meta Knight: "Meta Axe, quick, what was that thing you said about Kirby knowing what was happening?"

Meta Axe: "I was wondering how Kirby can know everything that's happening without seeing it."

Silence.

Meta Axe: "You don't suppose..."

Meta Knight: "Oh, but I do."

Captain: "What?"

Meta Knight: "He's got us bugged. I don't know how he did it, but somehow he can hear every word we say. That's how he knows what's happening even when he can't see it and, because of our jabbering on, he also knows how to destroy the core!"

Captain: [censored]

"You really should stop swearing, Cap."

Captain: "I can swear whenever I want and this is the perfect time to do so!"

"No, Cap. Don't—"

Captain: [censored]

Meta Knight: "I hope you can hear me Kirby! I hope you're getting all of this! You won't get off this ship alive! I will make sure of that! You are NOT about to ruin everything this Halberd was made for! You will die and I will rule! Got that?! Dreamland will be mine and you can't stop me!!!"

Meta Drone: "Bad news, Sir. The core has been destroyed."


	35. Evacuation

****

Chapter 35: Evacuation

"We're losing power! Engine number 3! Engine number 5!"

"There ain't any power left! We can't fly!"

"Everyone, ABANDON SHIP!!!"

"Evacuate! Evacuate!"

Captain: "Waaah! The ship's going down!"

"Kirby!" yelled Gooey. "The Halberd's going to crash! Get out of there!"

"Right!" replied Kirby.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and Kirby was blown off his feet. With the core gone, the reactor was self-destructing. Fire was everywhere.

"I'm cut off!" shouted Kirby. "The way I came in has been covered in flames and seems to be collapsing!"

Gooey swore and Kirby started wondering if "swearing" actually meant "using another language". Kirby then wondered if he could learn this seemingly non-Dreamlander language. After that, Kirby screamed and jumped out of the way of a falling (and flaming) piece of the Halberd.

"How do I get out of here?!" Kirby yelled.

"I'm working on it!" Gooey yelled back.

"Kirby," said a voice, "this way!"

It was the hamster. It was smiling through a large hole that it had made in the wall. Kirby quickly hopped through.

"Thanks!" yelled Kirby.

"Follow me!" replied the hamster.

"Who are you?" asked Kirby as he quickly followed the hamster through passageway after passageway.

"A friend!" answered the hamster.

In order to keep up with the hamster, Kirby had to run as fast as he could. Kirby was running so fast that he didn't have enough breath to ask the hamster the multitude of questions he had going through his mind. They were questions like "Why are you helping me?", "Where are you from?" and "Are you involved with the other animals that have been helping me?".

The hamster ran through a door and the door suddenly shut, blocking Kirby.

"Wait, Kirby!" said a voice.

"You can't go any further!" said another.

"You'll never escape!" said a third.

Kirby turned around. There was the Meta Clan.

"We want a rematch!" said Meta Chain.

"This time the hamster can't help you!" said Meta Sword.

"Fight!" yelled Meta Lance and the battle begun.

Meta Lance shot at Kirby, but Kirby got out of the way just in time and Meta Lance crashed into a wall. Meta Drone tried to poke Kirby with a spear, but Kirby opened his mouth and clamped it shut just as soon as the point was in. Kirby swallowed to become Needle Kirby! Kirby turned into a ball of spikes and Meta Sword almost got spiked through! Meta Chain swung his mace, but Kirby retracted his spikes and ducked. The mace went right over Kirby's head and hit Meta Axe in the face. 

Suddenly, there was another explosion. Now the room was on fire. The Meta Clan faltered a bit. They were staying back. They were separated from Kirby by fire. Kirby inhaled the fire and combined it with his Needle ability to become Fire Arrow Kirby! The Meta Clan immediately retreated when they saw the flaming arrows coming at them.

"Sir Meta Knight!" called one of them. "You're on your own!"

"We're evacuating!" yelled another.

Kirby shot a fire arrow right through the door and raced into the open passageway. The hamster was gone. Kirby hadn't expected it to stick around, rather than escape before its fur caught on fire.

Kirby ran and ran and ran, taking every turn that looked remotely safe. More explosions rocked the Halberd and Kirby lost his Fire Arrow ability when he was thrown by one of them.

After much running, Kirby found himself on top of the Halberd among the wreckage of the giant cannon. He didn't know what had destroyed it, but he was glad it wouldn't be able to stop him from escaping.

"Gooey, I'm outside!" shouted Kirby. "Get me a warpstar with a maximum tomato!"

"Done!" replied Gooey and a warpstar landed in front of Kirby.

Kirby hopped on, ate the maximum tomato and heard Meta Knight behind him.

"The force field! Now, Captain!"

Kirby flew off on the warpstar, but ran into some sort of invisible barrier. The warpstar disappeared and Kirby fell to the floor. He looked around and saw Meta Knight a ways off. Meta Knight was, just like last time, facing away from Kirby.

"Excellent, Captain. Now, evacuate. There is nothing more that can be done."

Meta Knight snapped his fingers and a sword materialized in front of Kirby. Kirby inhaled it and swallowed. A green pointed hat (that was tipped with a little tuft) appeared on his head and a sword appeared in his hand. Kirby had become Sword Kirby!

Meta Knight turned. His face was covered by circular grey mask with a shallow V cut into it for his eyes. 

"The sword you just swallowed," he said casually, "was connected in energy to this force field. You will not be able to rid yourself of Sword ability until you leave, but leaving is out of the question. It is with honor, Kirby," his voice became harsher, "that I now challenge you to a duel! Kirby, this is it!" he drew his sword. "Prepare to die!!!"


	36. The Revenge of Meta Knight

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Chapter 36: The Revenge of Meta Knight

Silence.

"En garde!" Meta Knight shouted as he suddenly raced at Kirby.

Kirby, now an expert swordsman because of his inhaled ability, rushed in as well. 

Slice, thrust, parry, thrust, parry, parry, slice, thrust. The duel was so fast that it just looked like a blur of swords clanging off each other. After a while, Kirby seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but then Meta Knight made a little slice on Kirby's foot. Kirby yelled and jumped back. Meta Knight thrusted in and Kirby dodged. Meta Knight jumped and shot downwards at Kirby, sword first. Kirby made a parry that countered the attack and swung his sword above his head. The whole jump had happened in about one second, but Meta Knight landed with part of his cape missing.

For a split second, Meta Knight stared in disbelief. Then there was another explosion. What was left of the giant cannon had caught on fire. Kirby inhaled the fire to combine it with his Sword ability and become Fire Sword Kirby! Kirby's green hat became red, his sword grew to twice its original size and then it lit on fire.

Meta Knight ran at Kirby again. Kirby swung his flaming sword and Meta Knight had to jump back to avoid it. Kirby ran forward with his sword held out in front, but Meta Knight dodged. Kirby swung his sword around and prevented Meta Knight from attacking after the dodge. Then, because of the momentum gained by swinging it, Kirby flipped over and stuck his sword in the floor. Kirby was finding it rather hard to wield a sword so big and heavy, so he tried to trash his power. However, Kirby ended up only trashing the Fire part and becoming Sword Kirby again. The sword shrank and its flames were put out. The sword was now small enough to be pulled from the ground. Kirby did so and immediately suffered a large gash on the back of his head. Meta Knight had sliced him.

Kirby screamed and swung hard with his sword. Meta Knight dodged. Kirby jumped back and then ran at Meta Knight. Meta Knight was ready, but Kirby tripped over an opening in the floor. Kirby slid across the floor, sword first. Meta Knight jumped and flipped through the air while swinging his sword vertically. Kirby rolled out of the way and looked at where he had tripped. Wires were protruding from the hole made by his Fire Sword. Kirby inhaled the sparks around the wires. Kirby then combined his Spark and Sword abilities.

Kirby turned black and his hat disappeared. Then, strange red designs spread across his face. Tiny horns appeared in a ring on Kirby's head; then one appeared on the top of his head; after that, one appeared on each side of his head. Kirby held up his hand and a short metal stick appeared in it. Kirby held the stick horizontally in front of him and beams of light appeared on either side of it. Kirby held the double light saber in front of him and became Darth Kirby! 

Kirby ran at Meta Knight with his new weapon. He twirled it around and made slice after slice, but Meta Knight just blocked Kirby's blows with his sword.

"Why... doesn't... this... destroy... your... sword?" Kirby asked, trying to concentrate at the same time.

"I'm... not... telling... _you_!" Meta Knight answered.

Kirby sliced around and around, while Meta Knight blocked again and again. Kirby was getting pretty confident. Meta Knight seemed no match for a double light saber. Just then, Meta Knight thrusted in and gave Kirby's left arm a sharp poke. 

Kirby rolled backwards. His wound was such that his arm could no longer be used. The pain was terrible. Kirby held onto his Darth ability. He knew he would need it.

Meta Knight's sword began to glow. He held it in front of him for a moment and then drove it into the floor. Some sort of blast in the floor blew Kirby off the top deck. He quickly thrusted back with his light saber and ended up hanging below the top deck. The light saber was stuck in the wall and Kirby was dangling from it by his right hand. Kirby then made the mistake of looking down. Fires raged far below him, but just inside the force field. If Kirby let go, he would be fried. Kirby thought of puffing up and flying to safety, but his arm was too hurt to flap. Meta Knight stood on the ledge above and looked down at Kirby.

"Goodbye, Kirby," he said. "You have lost."

Kirby began to slip.

"WHAT THE—" Meta Knight began, but he was cut short by a yell from below.

"Kirby! Need a lift?"

Kirby looked down just in time to see the hamster's face protruding from a hole in the wall below him. A split-second later, the hamster gave a mighty push and sent Kirby flying. Kirby shot up and flipped over Meta Knight while swinging his light saber. Kirby landed in front of Meta Knight, but a ways away. Meta Knight just stood there, staring.

A strange silence followed. Neither combatant moved.

Then, Meta Knight's mask split down the middle. Kirby's light saber must have cut it when he did that flip! The two pieces of the mask fell away and very familiar facial features were revealed. Those oval-shaped eyes, that small mouth, that absence of nose, that dark blue color! But, no... He couldn't be... a Dreamlander!

Kirby only got to see the face for a split second, because Meta Knight quickly turned around and started to retreat. 

"Oh, no you don't!" yelled Kirby and ran after Meta Knight.

However, when Meta Knight got to the ledge, his cape was ripped apart by wings that unfolded from his back. Meta Knight then flew off into the sky. Kirby waited for Meta Knight to crash into the force field, but the crash didn't come and Meta Knight was soon out of sight.

"Kirby! Kirby!" yelled Gooey, suddenly. "I'm sending a warpstar with a maximum tomato! The shield that was preventing not only your escape but my communications with you as well has been turned off! Quick! Get on the warpstar! The Halberd's going down!!!"

Kirby hopped on the warpstar in front of him, ate the maximum tomato and flew away from the halberd as fast as he could. He looked back to see that smoking ruin plunge into Orange Ocean and explode with a gargantuan splash.


	37. Let's Talk

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Chapter 37: Let's Talk

"Gooey, I just realized something," said Kirby. "I've been on this mission for a few days now and I still haven't gotten tired. Why is that?"

"It must be the maximum tomatoes," replied Gooey. "They energize you so you don't need sleep."

"Ah. I was just wondering. You see, the sun's setting and... um..."

"You were just wondering why you weren't sleepy."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Um..." began Kirby after giving much thought to the subject he was about to bring up. "When I sliced off Meta Knight's mask–"

"Wait," interrupted Gooey. "Just tell me one thing. Did you kill him?"

"No..."

"You didn't?! Oh, no..."

"As I was saying," continued Kirby, "his face was that of a Dreamlander's. Is Meta Knight... really... is he one?"

"I don't know. Maybe he is. There's a weirdo in every species."

"But he had wings... and fingers!"

"Yes. I agree it's strange. Maybe he's some sort of hybrid like Lololo and Lalala, but I can't think of what could be the other half of the combination. Hmm..."

Silence.

"Gooey," said Kirby a while later, "I have another thing to tell you. On my adventures, I have been helped at certain points by strange animals. A little bird gave me the shard in Butter Building. A cat fed me something that revived me during my battle with Ado. A fish saved me from Acro. Lastly, a hamster got me out of numerous jams on the Halberd."

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Gooey. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I know about these guys! They're a group of animal fighters for justice. They are one of the agencies that has a job of protecting Dreamland."

"You mean, there are _more_... agencies?"

"Well, yeah. I'm one of them. You see, each has a specific job. Mine is to aid you. The animals' job is miscellaneous protection. There are others. The Ripple Star Fairies prevent war. The Combo-Elementals protect the land. For instance, it's the Combo-Elementals' job to make sure the trees don't get cut down and the oceans don't get polluted. However, they were nearly all wiped out a few years ago when the Meta Clan devised a way of making the sun and the moon fight each other. I think the only one left is the Metal and Sky hybrid, Dynablade. Then there are the Star Warriors–"

"Everyone thinks _I'm_ a Star Warrior!" interrupted Kirby. "I'm not... am I? What are Star Warriors?"

"I was just about to tell you," Gooey continued. "The Star Warriors are special people who are designated, by the protectors, to be special heroes."

"Wow," said Kirby. "I _am_ a Star Warrior. I must be pretty special."

"Yeah. Anyway, there have been other Star Warriors in the past, but I admit they're not that common. Also, I didn't help any of them. They were specifically chosen, not like you. You were the only Dreamlander who wasn't captured, so you _had_ to be chosen. It was my job to help the 'sole survivor', when there was one."

"Oh," Kirby said a little dejectedly.

"Don't take it like _that_!" Gooey put in. "You're still special. There aren't many Dreamlanders who could do what you've done. Even with powers, you've accomplished no mean feat! You've calmed Whispy Woods, navigated through Butter Building, freed Lololo and Lalala from possession, defeated Ado, destroyed the Halberd and unmasked the notorious Meta Knight. You surely are special to have done such great things."

"Thank you," said Kirby, feeling much better. "I didn't know I had it in me. I was such a coward before."

"Well, sometimes the most insignificant people have the makings of greatness."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Kirby as the warpstar sailed into the sunset.


	38. A Brother in Arms

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Chapter 38: A Brother in Arms

As the warpstar was drawing near Big Forest, Gooey suddenly said, "Trash your power, quick!"

"Why?" asked Darth Kirby.

"You're going into a dense forest. You don't want that light saber of yours cutting down every tree you pass, do you? It's too dangerous. Get rid of it."

"Okay," said Kirby sullenly. He was going to miss the double light saber. It sure was fun to wield. Kirby trashed the power and the warpstar landed in a small clearing.

All was quiet.

Kirby kept looking around... and around and around. The clearing was circular and all the trees around it were densely packed. Kirby just knew that at some point, an enemy would leap out at him and attack. That attack could come from any direction at any time. Kirby was forcefully reminded of his battle against Lololo and Lalala. 

"What do I do now?" Kirby asked Gooey while still turning non-stop.

"Uh," answered Gooey, "I'm not sure. The sixth star rod shard must be hidden somewhere in this forest."

"Gooey," said Kirby, "this is Big Forest! The largest forest in Dreamland! I can't search this whole thing on foot!"

"Well, you can't use a warpstar. If you're above the canopy, you won't be able to see below it and you can't ride a warpstar through the trees around here. They're packed like Kabus in a Dekabu."

"Hey, I just got an idea!" said Kirby suddenly. "Gooey, do you have any means of contacting that animal group?"

"Yes!" replied Gooey. "As a matter of fact, I do! I have the phone number of their base."

"Then you can call them and request assistance."

"All right. Could you hang up for a moment? You see, I only have one phone–"

"I understand."

Kirby hung up and continued to turn on the spot, looking around. 

A minute later, Gooey came back on the phone and said that he had gotten an answering machine.

"So," he said, "I left a message stating that you were in Big Forest and requiring some navigational assistance."

"Thanks," replied Kirby. "I'm glad I didn't have to call. I hate leaving messages."

Silence.

"So..." Kirby asked a minute later, "I'm just supposed to wait?"

"Well," answered Gooey, "what else can you do?"

"But, Gooey," complained Kirby, "we don't know how long this will take. I could be here for days."

Gooey didn't answer and Kirby continued to turn 'round and 'round.

Kirby suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes just outside the clearing.

"Who's there?" he said, stopping his turning and facing the noise.

Into the clearing came... something. It was as small as Kirby. It had huge eyes and a huge mouth. It was wearing shoes (something Dreamlanders never did). It was also wearing a jester's hat on its head and a bow tie below its chin. It seemed to not have any arms. 

The creature's face was light purple and it smiled a huge two-toothed smile.

"Kirby!" it said in a baby-like voice.

It knew how to talk, that was usually a good sign. The pupils of its eyes weren't slits, another good sign. However, Kirby just stared at it. He was unsure whether to inhale it or ask who it was.

"Don't inhale me, or anything," it said. "I'm from the Nova Corporation. I have been assigned to guide you to the sixth star rod piece."

"Really?" said Kirby, greatly relieved.

"Really!" replied the thing enthusiastically.

"Did you say you were from the Nova Corporation?" asked Gooey, who must have been listening to the conversation.

"Uh, yeah!" answered the thing. "Why?"

"The Nova Corporation hasn't shown its face in... how many years? I thought they disbanded after one of their weapons destroyed Dream Course, the golfing club."

"We almost did, but instead, we kept a low profile for a couple years. You know, just until our services were needed again."

"Services?" Kirby interrupted. "What services? What _is_ the Nova Corporation, anyway?"

"Let me explain," said Gooey. "The Nova Corporation once provided weapons for the protecting companies of Dreamland. They were one of the official protectors, like the four I told you about. But then, many years ago, they developed the biggest bomb that Dreamland has ever seen. The bomb, however, was launched accidentally and it turned an entire golf course into a crater. After that, they stopped with the development. They must have figured that if they kept building bigger weapons, eventually another mistake was bound to happen and Dreamland would end up just like Dream Course."

"Oh," said Kirby.

"I'd have thought," continued Gooey, "that the Nova Corporation would stay dead. They must have realized that destruction is not always how to win a battle. I sure hope they have turned over a new leaf. If they haven't, I'm not sure we can trust... you-know-who."

"Oh," repeated Kirby; he knew who.

"Hey!" said you-know-who. "I'm not a bad guy! I'm just here to help you through this forest. No weapon sales, no explosions! I just wanna help! What do I have to do to earn your trust?"

"Gooey," said Kirby, "let's trust him. Without his help, we'll be stuck here for days. He could be our ticket to the star rod shard."

"Well," said Gooey hesitantly, "I guess he can stay, but don't try any funny business... uh... what did you say your name was?"

"Oh," said the guy from the Nova Corporation who would now be guiding Kirby through Big Forest, "you can call me... Marx."


	39. Fortunate Indeed

****

Chapter 39: Fortunate Indeed

"Just a little further," said Marx a few hours later.

"You said that already," said Kirby. "I'm sick of all this walking."

"But what about that break we took?"

"You mean the one where we were ambushed? You call that a break? Well, I feel weird. I'm not sure if that Togezo I ate agreed with me."

"Hey, it got you Needle power, didn't it? The enemies you left back there looked like Swiss cheese!"

"Whatever," relented Kirby. It was pointless to argue. Marx always seemed to come up with some counter-argument. Kirby didn't even know what "Swiss" meant.

Kirby pulled at a strap on his spiky helmet and continued to walk. He thought of sitting down and resting, but the maximum tomato he had just eaten wouldn't let him tire. 

"Here we are!" announced Marx.

They emerged into another clearing and saw a strange figure at the other end. It was wrapped completely in scarves. They were twisted around and around so that none of its body was shown. Its hands were gloved and its feet were hidden in shoes. As Kirby looked, he saw that not all of the figure's body was covered. Bright eyes seemed to switch on beneath holes in the fabric. 

"Intruder alert," it said in a hard, flat, and slightly-higher-than-one-might-expect voice.

Kirby used the camera on the phone to show Gooey.

"According to my data," said Gooey, "his name is Waiu. He has three attacks. They are throwing blades, throwing flaming ninja-stars, and moving really fast."

A C-shaped blade suddenly flew past Kirby and stuck in a tree. Waiu had thrown it.

"Looks like he wants to fight," said Kirby as he raced towards Waiu.

Kirby jumped and activated his Needle ability, but Waiu dodged and threw a flaming ninja-star. Kirby tried to inhale the star, but it was moving too fast. It touched the top of his head and Kirby screamed as that spot lit on fire. Kirby flipped over and smashed his head into the ground, extinguishing the flames. Another blade barely missed him a split-second later.

Kirby and Waiu faced each other. Kirby waited for Waiu to attack. Then Waiu was suddenly right in front of Kirby. Kirby immediately retracted into a spike ball, astounded by Waiu's speed.

__

This guy can move way too fast, thought Kirby. _How am I supposed to beat him?_

One of Waiu's blades suddenly sunk into Kirby's spikes. In a rush of pain, Kirby retracted them and destroyed it. Waiu threw a barrage of flaming ninja-stars and Kirby ran around and around, trying to dodge them. The barrage stopped and Kirby did too. This was lucky. If he hadn't, the blade that came whizzing by a second later would have sliced him in half.

Waiu appeared again in front of Kirby. This time, Kirby didn't use Needle. Instead, Kirby retreated up into a tree to consult Gooey.

Gooey, however, called before Kirby could say anything.

"I have discovered a pattern in Waiu's attacks!" said Gooey.

"Really?" said Kirby. This might save him!

"Waiu will only throw flaming ninja-stars when he thinks his opponent is on the offensive," explained Gooey, "and he will only throw blades when he thinks his opponent is either on the defensive or is not paying attention to what he is doing. He uses super-speed to eliminate the distance between him and his opponent. Does that help?"

"Yes, very much," said Kirby, relieved. "Thanks!"

Kirby hopped out of the tree and ran toward Waiu, who started throwing flaming ninja-stars. Kirby dodged and got out the phone. Instead of calling Gooey, he just whispered nonsense into it. He kept looking at Waiu to see if the guy was taking his bait. Waiu, however, was watching Kirby's eyes and when he noticed the repeated flicks in his direction, Kirby had to jump to avoid more flaming ninja-stars.

Kirby flew into the tree again and asked Gooey if he actually needed to fight this guy.

"Of course you do!" answered Gooey. "Marx led you right to him. Waiu _must_ have the shard!"

"Darn," said Kirby. "Gooey, Waiu's too hard. If I even _look_ at him, he knows I'm paying attention."

"Then don't look at him," said Gooey as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But how will I know if he's attacking?" complained Kirby.

"You won't," said Gooey; and then, after a pause, he continued, "How's this: you turn into a spike ball, wait, then retract the spikes and inhale."

"Yeah, like _that's_ gonna work," said Kirby incredulously.

"Well, it's your only hope!" said Gooey.

"Fine..." said Kirby, not sounding as though it was.

Kirby leapt from the tree and turned into a spike ball. He tried listening for a blade being thrown.

"Now, Kirby!" shouted Marx.

Kirby retracted his spikes, opened his mouth, and a blade went right in. Kirby then combined his Needle ability with the blade's Cutter ability.

Kirby's spiky helmet disappeared and then, instead of getting a new hat, Kirby turned green. Kirby watched as each of his arms grew to about ten times their original length and suddenly become covered with monstrous spikes. Kirby was now... Snare Kirby!

Kirby swung his massive arms to quickly knock away another blade. Waiu threw more flaming ninja-stars, but they just bounced right off Kirby's spikes. Kirby ran toward Waiu, swinging his arms. Waiu kept jumping back, remaining just out of Kirby's reach. Kirby backed him up against the trees with his swinging arms. Waiu looked left and right and suddenly disappeared using super-speed. Kirby made one violent swing and connected. Waiu flipped over in back of Kirby; he had been hit in the waist. Kirby ran and clapped his arms together, crushing Waiu between them. Kirby could feel Waiu's body smash between the spikes.

Kirby sat there for a few seconds; then he slowly separated his arms to reveal...

"He's a _robot_?!" yelled Kirby in surprise.

Waiu's carcass lay in the middle of the clearing. It barely had a recognizable shape. It was crushed and covered in holes that contained sparking wires and punctured metal panels.

An hour later, Kirby and Marx had completely dissected Waiu and had found...

"Nothing!" shouted Kirby. "Where is the star rod shard?!"

"I don't know," said Marx, rummaging through what was left of Waiu. "It should _be_ here!"

"Then why _isn't_ it?!" shouted Kirby insanely.

"I don't know," repeated Marx, "but we'll get to the bottom of this. You mark my words."

Silence. Kirby spent the next few minutes seeing if he could juggle some of the Waiu pieces. He had earlier trashed his Snare ability in order to gain the ability to pick up stuff and not destroy it in the process. Kirby had also received a maximum tomato and a hearty congratulations from Gooey.

Kirby then remembered something that had happened during his fight with Waiu and thought he should show gratitude for it.

"Thank you," he said to Marx, "for what you did back there. Without you telling me when to inhale, I might not have beaten Waiu."

"It was nothing," said Marx. "After all, I _am_ here to help. You know, I heard you and Gooey talking in the tree. You really depend on the guy, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," confirmed Kirby.

"You know what I would really like?" asked Marx.

"What?" said Kirby. "I do need a way to reward you for your help."

"I would really like to have a look at that phone," answered Marx.

"Oh!" said Kirby, startled. "Um... I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" asked Marx. "You trust me, don't you? What's so dangerous about letting me hold a phone?"

"Well..." said Kirby, trying to come up with some excuse not to give it to him, "I just don't... um... you might..."

"Fine!" sulked Marx. "I just wanted one little favor after I saved your life! But nooooooo. I can't even be trusted with a cell phone for **ten seconds**!"

"Oh, all right," said Kirby, giving in. "Here you go."

"Yay!" said Marx happily as little claws appeared on either side of his head. Marx grabbed the phone and almost squealed with glee, "Oh, this is so cool! So, you just talk into here and Gooey can hear you?"

"Yeah," said Kirby unenthusiastically. 

"Thanks!" said Marx highly enthusiastically, while inspecting all the little buttons on the phone.

"By the way, Marx," said Kirby, turning around and looking off into the distance, "where do you think we should head now?" 

No answer.

"I know that phone is interesting," said Kirby, getting annoyed, "but would you please just listen to me for a second?"

Again, no answer.

Kirby turned around.

Marx was gone.

"Marx?" said Kirby. "Marx?"

Silence.

"Marx!" shouted Kirby. "MARX!"

But there was no Marx. Kirby sat there in the clearing, looking around and around.

"Marx?" he said feebly.

Marx was gone. The cell phone was gone. Kirby... was lost.


	40. Meanwhile

****

Chapter 40: Meanwhile...

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Vegetable Valley had fallen without a fight. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms in Vegetable Valley.

A strange monster flew up to the hill where King Dedede stood. Its face was dark grey and its nose and chin seemed unnaturally elongated. Its eyes flashed non-stop between white and black. Curved horns protruded from each side of its skull and a large ruby was stuck in its forehead. It wore a golden necklace that ended in another ruby and metal plates where its shoulders should have been. Below its head, a black swirling cloak hid the rest of its body, which ended in a point. Disgusting hands floated on either side of the cloak.

"Ah, Nightmare," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "What news do you bring?"

"Marx has stolen the phone," replied Nightmare. "His mission is complete."

"Excellent. Now, I want you to make sure Meta Knight has passage through the forest. Do not let him know of your presence. Kirby will fall easily to his plan. Gooey cannot save him now."

"Why not just attack Kirby directly? He currently had no defense against us."

"That would alert the Meta Clan to just how powerful I have become. We do not want them preparing themselves for a fight with me. I do not wish to have Dreamland destroyed. It is the greatest source of food that I have found during the many years I traveled through space."

"Ah..." agreed Nightmare. It then asked, "By the way, what about Marx?"

"He will find his way back to me," answered King Dedede. "I must fulfill my part of the deal."

"You aren't seriously going to—"

"No, I'm not. I have a better idea. I have been wishing to try out the technology used on Meta Knight. Marx may end up being a valuable ally."

"Heh, heh, heh. Dark Matter, you sure have done it this time. Kirby will be out of our way for good and Dreamland will be yours!"

"Yes." King Dedede smiled. "Do not fail again."

"Don't worry. I won't. I'm on my way."

A blue blur shot through the forest. Every tree it came near suddenly sustained a horrible slice and toppled to the ground. The blur entered a cave and stopped.

"I'm here," said Meta Knight, panting.

"Your mask!" shouted the Meta Clan almost in unison.

"Kirby sliced it off," said Meta Knight quickly. "Do you have another that I could use?"

There was no reply. Everyone was staring at Meta Knight.

"Stop that!" demanded Meta Knight.

Meta Chain was then bold enough to say something.

"I've never seen you with your mask off," he said.

"Neither have I," said everyone else in turn.

"You're not _supposed_ to see me without my mask!" said Meta Knight angrily.

"You know," said Meta Lance, "you're kinda cute."

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" shouted Meta Knight. He then unfolded his huge bat-like wings and drew his sword.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Give me another mask or die by my blade!"

"Whoa, cool it, there," said Meta Sword. "You know we don't carry extra masks."

Meta Knight sheathed his sword and folded his wings. "I know," he whimpered, "but there must be _some_thing I can do. Without my mask, I'm no longer part of the Meta Clan. I don't even have a cape." He appeared to be on the verge of crying.

"No, don't say that," said Meta Blade. "You're still one of us. You're still our leader. Hey, I know something that might cheer you up. Look what we caught."

The Meta Clan parted and Meta Knight saw what was behind them. There, bound and gagged, was Marx.

"He's from the Nova Corporation," said Meta Axe.

"How do you know that?" said Meta Knight, amazed.

"Well, he was yelling at us to untie him or the Nova Corporation would," Meta Axe then did a surprisingly good impression of Marx, "'come and blow us all up!'"

"But, the Nova Corporation hasn't been around for ages," said Meta Knight.

"That's right," said Meta Drone, "but they're back, apparently."

"Well..." considered Meta Knight. Then he said to Marx, "What post do you have at the Nova Corporation?"

Meta Sword removed the gagging substance in Marx's mouth and Marx answered Meta Knight, "My name is Marx and my post... is... uh... Bomb Planter! Yeah, and I've planted a bomb right here in this forest that will blow you all to Grape Garden if you don't untie me right now!!!"

"Why the pause?" said Meta Knight accusingly.

"I know why," said Meta Axe. "It's because you're not really from the Nova Corporation. You're just using that as a threat. If you indeed are from the Nova Corporation, then what's this?" Meta Axe shook the cell phone in front of Marx's face.

"It's a bomb! It's a bomb! It's voice activated too! All I have to do is say the activation code and this forest will be a crater in two seconds!"

"Meta Axe," said Meta Knight, "can I have that phone for a second?"

"It's no use, Meta Knight," said Meta Drone while Meta Axe handed Meta Knight the phone. "Not even I could figure out how to use it."

"You numbskulls!" said Meta Knight, "Can't you see it's already on?"

"Oh," said Meta Drone.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" said Meta Knight into the phone. Then, when no answer came, he said, "If you don't answer, I will trace this call, find out where you are, storm in and personally slaughter anyone there!"

"No!" came a voice from the phone. "My name is Gooey and—"

"Gooey?!" yelled Meta Knight in disbelief. "Hold on a minute." Meta Knight then said to Marx, "Where did you get this?"

"I brought it with me!" screamed Marx, "It's a bomb that says 'Gooey' five seconds before it explodes! You'd better untie me now so that I can disarm it!!!"

"I WANT THE TRUTH!" shouted Meta Knight, holding his sword to Marx's head. "WHERE?"

Marx's answer was barely audible. "I stole it from Kirby," he said.

"Ah, ha!" shouted Meta Knight in triumph. Then he said into the phone, "So, you've been helping Kirby, Protector."

"Don't call me that!" retorted Gooey. "It's a job, all right? And another thing, I've been listening to you this whole time and you have no right to be handling this phone. Give it back to Kirby or I'll—"

"You'll what?" said Meta Knight in his most oily tone, "If you try anything, I'll trace this call and reveal to all the world where your base of operations is. Gooey, let's have a little talk. So, you've been helping Kirby this whole time. I guess it was your warpstars that he was riding on and you who managed to tap into our communications on the Halberd."

"You evil," spat Gooey, "horrible, nasty, twisted mother f—"

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Gooey," Meta Knight interrupted. "You have to do as _I_ say now, or you can kiss your secrecy goodbye."

Gooey did not respond.

"Good," said Meta Knight. "You learn fast. Now, I have some requests for you. First, I'd like a new mask. I know you have pictures of me and I would like you to make me a replica of my old one. It was made of titanium and you can send the new one to me on one of you warpstars. Second, after I have my mask, I need you to guide me to Kirby's current location. Maybe I'll even let you talk to him one last time. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh."


	41. The Dreamlander Limit

****

Chapter 41: The Dreamlander Limit

What was interesting about the capture was that it was quick. The Meta Clan made a net out of vines and sap. Then they located Kirby, who was currently lost in his own madness, and threw the net down on top of him. Kirby started screaming the moment he was covered and when the Meta Clan got off their warpstars (which remained stationary in the air), he screamed louder and struggled against the net.

All of the Meta Clan held their ears, including Meta Knight, who shouted, "Kirby! None of that! Stop! I have a call for you!"

Kirby quieted, confused, and Meta Knight produced the cell phone.

"Look what we caught," said Meta Knight. 

Another warpstar landed. This one disappeared, depositing Marx on the ground. He was bound tightly, but not gagged.

"Kirby, help!" yelled Marx. "They kidnapped me right from behind you after you gave me the phone! I'm not a traitor!"

"Our stealth is quite unmatched," confirmed Meta Knight. "Kirby, now that we have you–"

"No you don't!" yelled Kirby and began inhaling.

Nothing at all happened, except for all the trees bending in Kirby's direction.

"There is no escape for you, Kirby," said Meta Knight.

"Kirby! Kirby!" yelled Gooey from the phone. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you!" Kirby yelled back, close to tears.

"I'll give you two minutes," said Meta Knight, laying down the phone by the edge of the net, just out of Kirby's reach.

"Kirby," said Gooey. "I'm sorry."

"No," replied Kirby, "Isn't there something you can do?"

"I'm sorry," repeated Gooey, "It's too complicated."

"Gooey, you gotta help me," pleaded Kirby desperately. "They're gonna kill me."

"I'm sorry," said Gooey again. "I can't help you. I work for Mr. Masked Psychopath now."

"Why?" Kirby whimpered.

"It's for the good of Dreamland," said Gooey, hopelessly.

"No!"

"Goodbye, Kirby."

"Time's up!" said Meta Knight, removing the phone.

Kirby lay there, mortified. A horrible sadness consumed him.

"Yep," said Meta Chain. "There's nothin' like finding out your best friend's an asshole." 

Kirby did not move. His eyes were open and terrified.

"Well, Kirby," began Meta Knight. This was his moment. This was the perfect time for gloating with a victory speech. "This is it. You lost. I won. It was inevitable. It would have happened on the Halberd if it weren't for that rodent. Now I see. You're nothing alone. You always had help with everything, up until recently, when your phone was taken. I see you now, cowering under that net. Just losing a friend does this to you. Your spirit may be willing," he drew his sword, "but your pink flesh is weak."

Meta Knight tossed the phone to Meta Sword and said, "Meta Sword, I want you to use that phone to take a picture of me. Gooey should see this."

Meta Knight held his sword above Kirby as if he was about to drive it into him. "Remember, Kirby," he said. "It's all business."

Kirby watched the sword with fear beyond any that a Dreamlander had ever felt before.

"Take a picture now," instructed Meta Knight, "and take another one after the sword goes down."

"Got it," said Meta Sword. "I've taken the first pic– HEY!"

Meta Sword had suddenly fallen over for no reason. Then they saw Marx. In his squirming around, trying to get free, he had inched his way over to Meta Sword and knocked him down.

"You fool!" yelled Meta Knight, turning to face Marx. "You die! Now!"

"No!" screamed Marx and Kirby.

"I don't even know why we've been keeping you alive," continued Meta Knight. "We have no need of your lying, your screaming, your–"

Meta Knight stopped. He looked up into the sky.

"I smell it too," said Meta Blade.

"Something's burning," said Meta Axe.

"Something big," said Meta Lance.

"But what?" said Meta Chain.

"Burn!" yelled a powerful voice from above.

"No! It can't be!" exclaimed Meta Knight.

But it was. A strange spiky cloud loomed overhead and a thunderbolt struck a nearby tree.

"Fire!" yelled Meta Sword.

He was right. The cloud had started a forest fire. The trees around the clearing were burning.

"Wait!" shouted Meta Knight. "Let me kill Kirby!" 

POW! Meta Knight suddenly lay on the ground. He had been struck by lightning.

"Meta Knight!" shouted the Meta Clan.

Meta Sword and Meta Blade lifted up Meta Knight and put him on a warpstar. Meta Chain wound his chain around the warpstar. He then lifted off on his own warpstar, pulling Meta Knight behind him. The rest of the Meta Clan jumped on their warpstars and flew off immediately.

"Gooey! Send two warpstars!" yelled Marx into the phone that the Meta Clan had miraculously forgotten to take with them.

Two warpstars landed nearby, but Marx was tied up and Kirby was under a net that was stuck to the ground. 

"Crud!" yelled Marx in frustration.

Kirby inhaled a lot of fire and combine two Fire abilities to transform into Comet Kirby! Kirby used his ability to shoot upwards in a blaze of fire and disintegrate the net. Kirby then freed Marx. They hopped on the warpstars, Kirby ate the Maximum Tomato on his, they flew upwards, and the rest of the clearing was consumed in fire.

"We did it!" Kirby yelled in triumph.

"I hate to spoil your fun," said Marx, "but now your communications with Gooey are finally over. You left the phone back down in the clearing."

Kirby looked down. It was like a sea of fire below him.

"Oh, no," said Kirby.

Kirby looked back up. Marx was gone.

"Not again!" cried Kirby.

That powerful voice was laughing. Kirby now recognized it. He barely had before; it had sounded so different. It now sounded... insane. Kracko loomed in front of Kirby, cackling.

"Blaahaahaahaahaa!" It sounded like a cross between a cackle and a scream. Kracko shrieked crazily, "Oh, yes. Everyone runs away from Kirby. For Kirby is a crazy Star Warrior. He is sooooo powerful, but he can't stand a little sadness. No, no, no! Blaahaahaaaaaa! He doesn't even have any friends! They're all traitors! Yes! Traitors! He can't even hold on to the good in himself long enough to prevent his friends from turning on him! He must be bad luck! He must! He can't even hold onto a phone! How does it feel to be a loser, Kirby!? Yes, yes!!! A LOSER!!! HAA, HAA, HAA, HAA, HAA!!!!!"

Something strange was happening inside of Kirby. It was a horrible clashing of emotion. His confusion was persistently asking why Kracko was acting this way. His sadness was reacting to his having no friends and being a "loser". His frustration was begging him to find Marx and the next shard. His annoyance was wishing Kracko would stop laughing. Then there was an empty hole of no emotion. Every Dreamlander had this empty hole to dump their emotion into and use to try to remain calm. Kirby tried. He screwed up his face. His eyes narrowed. His mouth curled into an upside-down U. He shook all over. A new emotion was gripping him. It filled the hole. No Dreamlander had ever felt this emotion before, and Kirby had just been overloaded with it.


	42. Rage and Wisdom

****

Chapter 42: Rage and Wisdom

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" Kirby roared. Well, actually, since no Dreamlander had ever roared before, it sounded more like a scream.

Kracko's eye widened as Comet Kirby suddenly shot at it in a blaze of fire. Kirby bounced off Kracko, but had damaged it nonetheless. Kracko shrieked and started shooting electricity in every direction. Kirby, still on fire, flew around and around Kracko, who only just managed to keep him at bay with all the lightning. Kirby knew nothing. He was driven on by the rage that had consumed him. He wanted to destroy. Destroy.

Looking at them, you would have seen a white blur with green and red blurs shooting around it above the burning forest.

The battle continued for... too long a time to narrate. Basically, Kirby flew around and around for a long time, looking for an opening where he could smash into Kracko without being fried by its lightning bolts. No such opening came. 

Eventually, a huge torrent of wind blew Kirby away from Kracko. Enraged at his sudden separation between himself and the being he wished to destroy, Kirby looked for the creator of the gust. He didn't have to look far. Soaring towards the forest, fanning its gigantic wings, was a monstrous bird. It seemed to be made completely of metal.

The wind from the bird's wings was beginning to put out the fire! Regardless, Kirby flew toward it. He was angry at it for creating the wind. He was ready to fight. As he flew drew near the bird, it spotted him and whacked him hard with one of its wings.

The warpstar Kirby was riding on was instantly destroyed. Though the metal wing he had hit splintered, Kirby was sent flying into the distance. He was knocked senseless by the blow.

"Ha! Ha!" shouted Kracko. "Now you know how it feels, Kirby! May you have just as safe a landing as I did! You sure are going to! Going," Kracko's voice got fainter as Kirby rocketed into the distance, "going, going, going, gone."

Kirby felt his Comet ability drain away as he flew. He was soon past the fires, past Big Forest, past Red Canyon, past the remains of Butter Building...

He was over Orange Ocean now and losing altitude. Up ahead, there was the colder part of Orange Ocean. There were icebergs. Kirby watched with horror as a particularly big one loomed in front of him. He watched it get closer. He was going to collide with it, he was sure. He was going to die on it. He was going to be shredded into a million pieces by all those spikes and jagged surfaces.

SNATCH! Kirby was no longer sailing towards the iceberg! He had somehow stopped in mid-air! He looked around and saw that a large owl was carrying him.

"Hello," it said, not looking at Kirby.

Kirby was too stunned to respond.

"So, where to?" said the owl as though it carried passengers all the time.

Kirby opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"In that case," said the owl, "I will fly in the direction you came from and when you want to stop, say so."

The owl continued to look ahead. It did not even glance at the Dreamlander clutched in its talons.

When they made it back to Big Forest, Kirby made an effort to signal the end of the trip. He meant to say "down", but it didn't come out quite right.

"Bleh," he burbled.

"Are you sick?" questioned the owl. "Or is this your destination?"

"Down," Kirby managed to say.

"Maybe both," said the owl and descended.

Kirby could see Kracko and the metal bird fighting in the distance. Both were very effective against each other. The bird, being metal, was highly susceptible to Kracko's lightning, but the bird's wings and talons were so powerful that Kracko would get smashed around like a Babut in the way of King Dedede's mallet.

Kirby and the owl were soon below the canopy and they did not see the outcome of the battle.

"In a few minutes, I will leave you," said the owl, checking its feathers. "I have studied this place well and what you are seeking is probably underground." 

The owl looked away from Kirby and motioned ahead with its wing.

"In this direction," it explained, "you will find an entrance to Cavios, the underground network of tunnels."

"Thanks," mumbled Kirby, "for saving my life."

"Do not mention it," said the owl without the slightest hint of emotion.

Then, the owl turned, and for the smallest fraction of a second, its eyes met Kirby's. 

"Please excuse me," it said. "I must aid my colleagues in fighting Ice Dragon. He must not be allowed to unleash a blizzard on Dreamland. Good day."

The owl flew upward and was gone.


	43. Little Black Lies

****

Chapter 43: Little Black Lies

Deep under Red Canyon, in the tunnels of Cavios, the Meta Clan was reviving Meta Knight.

"What happened?" was the first thing Meta Knight said.

"You were struck by lightning," explained Meta Drone.

"Oh, that accursed cloud!" roared Meta Knight, standing up. "I'll kill you, Kracko! I'll... whoa..."

Meta Knight toppled to the ground.

"You're still too weak," continued Meta Drone. "I don't suggest standing."

"Huhh," grunted Meta Knight. "Why did you say it was dead?"

"Pardon?"

"Why, back on the Halberd, did you say that Kracko was dead?"

"That would be because I thought it was. There were no large, living, electrical organisms that our radar could detect at that time."

"But..."

"Let me explain. When we shot Kracko with the huge cannon, we hit it really hard. That blow may have damaged Kracko's brain. As Kracko shot into the distance, its body functions must have temporarily ceased. That would have made it not produce any electricity until it became conscious again."

"Oh."

Silence.

"You know," said Meta Knight. "I _thought_ Kracko's voice sounded a bit strange. It must have lost its mind. The sane Kracko would never have attempted to burn down a whole forest. No doubt Dynablade will come."

Silence.

"Oh, by the way," said Meta Knight, sounding very serious, "what happened to Kirby?"

"He was killed in the fire," said Meta Lance.

"Really? You saw it happen?"

"Well... no. We left him under the net in the clearing."

"You idiots!" yelled Meta Knight. "Didn't you stop to think for one second or maybe delay your flight for one minute to kill him?! There's no way he's dead. He will have inhaled the fire and freed himself!" 

"Oh," said Meta Chain, "but we didn't have time. We were too busy saving you."

Meta Knight sighed.

"I'm sorry," said Meta Drone, "but we spent so much time thinking it was dead that we were unprotected against Kracko's interference."

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Grape Garden had fallen without a fight. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms in Grape Garden.

A warpstar flew up to the cloud where King Dedede stood. Riding on the warpstar was none other than Marx.

"Ah, Marx," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "Did you succeed in your mission?"

"Yes," answered Marx, "but I was captured. The phone was taken from me—"

"WHAT?"

"No! No! Let me finish! Um... I fought my way free and tried to reclaim the phone, but it was destroyed in the struggle."

"Ah. So you did _not_ fail. Very good."

Silence.

"So... uh..." said Marx hesitantly. "I'll just be going, then."

"Where are you going, Marx?" said King Dedede.

"You know, back to Halfmoon. My home planet."

"No. You won't be going anywhere."

"But, you promised. 'Get the phone,' you said, 'and I'll grant you passage home.'"

"Oh yes..." said King Dedede, grinning. "Well, I lied."

Before Marx could fly away, King Dedede's stomach turned into a black and white eye that fired a dark ball at the warpstar. On contact, the warpstar and the ball instantly disintegrated, leaving Marx shuddering on the ground. King Dedede's stomach turned back to normal. 

"Come, Marx," he said. "I think you have an appointment in the dungeons of Castle Dedede."

Strange dark tentacles were creeping toward Marx from behind King Dedede.

"No!" yelled Marx, trying to keep away from them. "Get away from me!"

"Marx," said King Dedede, "you are very important to me. You need to be added to my army."

"Augh!" screamed Marx as one of the tentacles grabbed him. "No! No!"

As Marx tried to struggle free, more tentacles wrapped around him. Soon, he was completely covered, except for his face. His eyes were staring around wildly and his mouth was open, screaming.

"Now, none of that," said King Dedede.

A strange dark electricity surged through the tentacles. When it touched Marx, his voice seemed to switch off. He still tried to scream, but no sound escaped.

Slowly, Marx closed his mouth. A tear trickled down his face. He stared at King Dedede.

Suddenly, another dark ball emerged from behind the king. This ball, however, had an eye. One giant eye that was completely red, except for the black pupil in the middle and some white where red would have been if the eye was bloodshot.

"Excellent," said King Dedede.

Marx's eyes widened as wide as he could get them. His mouth opened and he let out the biggest scream in the history of Dreamland. The problem was that it was inaudible.


	44. The Great Cave Offensive

****

Chapter 44: The Great Cave Offensive

The tunnels of Cavios span the entirety of Dreamland... underground that is. Long ago, when food wasn't as plentiful, Dreamlanders used Cavios for easy passage to places like Red Canyon, which is surrounded by an icy mountain range. Dreamlanders would not climb the mountains for fear of the monster called Mr. Frosty, who would kill Dreamlanders by crushing them with ice and eating them whole.

Sorry. I got a bit sidetracked. Where was I? Oh yes, Cavios. 

No one knows who dug out the twisting tunnels of Cavios, but it was the early Dreamlanders who put in the tracks and carts.

Dreamlanders have no currency. They prefer trading. When Cavios fell into disuse, King Dedede found a very large amount of "worthless" gold in the tunnels and quickly modified the carts to be useful for mining. The Dreamlanders have no idea why he loves the stuff. It may be shiny, but it doesn't seem worth it to heave the heavy stuff out of deep mines just for decoration.

There are entrances to Cavios in Big Forest, in Red Canyon, in Sand Canyon, on Ice Cream Island, at the bottom of Mt. Dedede, and in Rainbow Resort.

It is very hard to find your way around Cavios and a map of it has never been made. The only two things that make it easier are the carts and the fact that each cart has a headlight. However, if you enter Cavios through the entrance in Big Forest, take the lowest tube, then go right, left, left, straight, diagonally up and to the left, down, right, right, left, right, straight, straight, left, down, right, you will see the age old marks of a battle held there. 

Kirby sailed along through the darkness. The little light he had did not extend very far in front of him. Kirby had never traveled through Cavios before. Kirby looked back for the umpteenth time to make sure he wasn't being followed when—

THUMP! THUMP!

Kirby felt the jolt and realized, to his horror, that he had just run over a Grizzo. Those mine carts sure were powerful. Kirby decided to not think about the Grizzo. There were already two things bothering him. One: where was he going? The owl hadn't given him any instructions. It had just told him that what Kirby was searching for was "probably underground". Two: he remembered sailing through the air at an incredible speed before the owl caught him. How had he suddenly gotten like that? He remembered standing on a warpstar above a sea of fire and then shooting off into the distance. Not only that, when he saw Kracko and a metal bird fighting, he remembered seeing the bird before, but couldn't figure out when. His head hurt. He made another check behind and rode on.

Kirby was thinking hard about the two bothers, an expression of determination on his face, when he suddenly saw light ahead of him! It was faint and far away. Kirby's first thought when he saw it was that it was an exit, but then he wasn't so sure. He was so deep underground that it couldn't _possibly_ be an exit. Well, it was getting closer. He would find out soon enough.

The Meta Clan was lost. They would not admit it, but they were. Meta Drone had gone over their progress again and again and had absolutely no idea how far they had traveled while Meta Knight was unconscious. Meta Knight was fuming about the fact that Kirby and Kracko were still alive. Meta Sword and Meta Blade had to pick him up every so often because of the fact that he was still very weak. Meta Chain was pulling the warpstars behind him; they were the only lights the Meta Clan had to go by. Meta Lance was watching the tracks below them. Lastly, Meta Axe was leading the group.

"I can see something," said Meta Axe, suddenly.

Everyone stopped.

"I can too," said the rest of the Meta Clan in turn.

"What is it?" said Meta Chain.

"It's light!" hissed Meta Lance. "We're out! We made it!"

"We can't be out," said Meta Axe, doubtfully. "We're too deep underground."

"It's getting closer," observed Meta Drone, "and it's traveling at a much faster speed than we are."

"Everyone, get ready," commanded Meta Knight. "It might be a runaway mine cart. If we can stop it and turn it around, we might be able to use it to escape."

Kirby was going quite fast now. Having never traveled through Cavios, he had never ridden one of the famous mine carts and therefore didn't know how to work them. He wished he could slow down, but he couldn't find a lever to pull, a button to push, _anything_. It was quite a bright light that he was coming up on. Shining just like a star... but it couldn't be...

"But, why do we need a mine cart to escape?" questioned Meta Lance. "We can just follow the tracks."

"Well, not only are these electrically-powered mine carts much faster than walking," explained Meta Knight, "but they will always go back the way they came. This means that when we hit an intersection, the cart will show us which way to go."

"Brilliant!" said Meta Lance, enthusiastically.

"Get ready," said Meta Drone, urgently. "The mine cart will reach this position in eighteen seconds. Sixteen, fif—"

"You skipped seventeen!" said Meta Chain.

"It took me more than one second to say 'eighteen seconds', so I had to—"

"Countdown!" Meta Knight interrupted.

"Sorry," apologized Meta Drone. "Nine, eight, seven..."

Kirby was so close; he was nearly there...

"...six, five, four..."

The light was so bright...

"...three, two, one..."

Just as Kirby got to the light, his mine cart suddenly flipped over and he was flung out. He flew a short distance over the completely shocked Meta Clan and landed on the source of the light. He had one split-second glimpse of the Meta Clan staring at him wide eyed (except for Meta Lance, who was trying to remove his trident weapon from one of the cart's wheels) before—

"GET HIM!" shouted Meta Knight and the chase was on.

Kirby sure was thankful for the fact that he had landed on a warpstar, but he was even more thankful for his flying experience and good reflexes. It immediately became clear why the Meta Clan had not been using their warpstars when he found them. 

Kirby sustained scratches and bruises galore as he bounced off the walls, trying to keep ahead of the gaining Meta Clan. They had quickly turned the mine cart back over and were using the warpstars to push it along at an amazing speed. 

Slash! Bang! Scratch! Bonk! The rocky walls of the tunnel showed no mercy. The Meta Clan was catching up.

"Yeah! Just a little farther..." Kirby heard one of them say.

One of their hands brushed him. They were reaching out... about to grab on...

Kirby turned to the left. The Meta Clan's cart turned to the right... and they went with it.

Kirby slowed down and stopped. It was a narrow escape and he knew it.

Kirby dismounted the warpstar and looked around. By the light of the warpstar, he could easily see his surroundings. For the first time, he had found an area without tracks. He looked at the walls. A strange yellow glittery stuff that he had never seen before stuck to the walls in chunks.

__

This area must be unexplored, he reasoned. _The area with tracks doesn't have this stuff on the walls._

Kirby looked forward, away from where he came from and realized that the tunnel got wider farther in.

Kirby got back on his warpstar. What could possibly be down this way? Could it be something no Dreamlander has ever seen? Or could it be something too scary to put tracks past?


	45. The Heaviest Artillery

****

Chapter 45: The Heaviest Artillery

Kirby flew slowly through the tunnel. He could hear something in the distance...

Kirby stopped. He had hit a dead end. This puzzled him. He could definitely hear noise, but where was it coming from? It sounded like huge machinery being moved around. 

Kirby looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise. He then, realizing the direction the noise was coming from, looked down.

The tunnel did continue... into a vertical drop. Kirby descended through the tube.

Once he had descended quite a ways, he saw another tunnel leading off to the right. He took it.

The noise was getting louder...

Suddenly, Kirby saw it. 

"It" was a huge machine. Its main body was cylindrical and had a dome on top. Attached on opposite sides were metal arms, which, instead of hands, ended in circular chainsaws. 

The machine stopped what it was doing (Kirby suspected it had been creating another tunnel) and turned. One mechanical eye stared at Kirby from the dome and above it the words **MEGA MECHA MOLE v2.0 **were clearly visible. Kirby didn't know what "v2.0" meant, but his eyes suddenly widened as he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. There, buried in the pupil of Mecha Mole's eye, was the sixth star rod shard.

Kirby readied himself. This battle was going to be difficult.

Mecha Mole, however, did not see Kirby as a threat. Instead of attacking, it continued with its work. 

Kirby inhaled a rock from the ground. He knew it would not be smart to use Stone ability against Mecha Mole. If he hit the bottom of the tunnel as a rock, he might just plummet through the bottom, destroying the ground beneath him. Kirby didn't want to create his own deadly abyss, so he shot the rock out at Mecha Mole. 

The rock created a little dent in Mecha Mole, but that was enough to make it angry. It stopped working. Metal panels all over its body slid open. Cannon-type weapons emerged from the holes. In one swift movement, they all pointed at Kirby and fired.

Kirby turned vertical just in time. Every single missile hit the warpstar, causing a huge explosion. That explosion threw Kirby to the ground while his warpstar shattered like glass.

Kirby was expecting everything to go black, but Mecha Mole seemed to be covered in red fluorescent lights.

Mecha Mole put away its cannons and went back to its work, unaware that Kirby had not been killed. 

Kirby hesitated to shoot another rock at Mecha Mole. If it used those missiles again... Kirby didn't believe he could survive a direct hit from those things. He couldn't inhale them. They moved too fast.

Kirby got an idea! He ran over to Mecha Mole, who had moved a considerable distance away along the tunnel it was creating, and climbed on top of it.

Mecha Mole seemed not to notice. It did notice, however, when Kirby inhaled a rock from the ceiling and shot it right down into Mecha Mole's back.

Mecha Mole stopped working again. Its dome head swiveled around and its eye stared at Kirby. 

Mecha Mole raised its chainsaws and banged the flat parts together. They rang like a gong. The immensely loud noise filled the tunnel and the entire structure shook.

The horrible sound almost made Kirby faint. Though he did not, the vibrations caused by the noise had started a cave-in. 

Rocks loosened themselves from the ceiling and came crashing down everywhere. Kirby, being near the ceiling, wasn't hurt as much, but his head was ringing. The noise had been so loud.

Kirby heaved a rock off of himself and watched in horror as Mecha Mole prepared to bang those "hands" together again. 

"No..." said Kirby feebly.

Mecha Mole brought them together again for a resounding crash.

Kirby screamed in pain, unable to cover his non-existent ears. 

Suddenly, Kirby was no longer in pain. He had somehow gotten an ability that blocked out the sound! He didn't know how he had gotten it, but he activated this new power right then.

With an evil grin, Mike Kirby turned around his cap so that the visor faced backward, pulled out a megaphone about as big as himself and screamed into it.

The scream, enhanced in volume by the megaphone, was about ten times louder than the crashes of Mecha Mole's "hands".

Mecha Mole creaked and groaned, clearly in pain. Kirby's screaming was so loud, that the piles of rocks that fell around him were reduced to dust by the sonic waves.

Kirby ran out of breath, but he still had his ability. He put on some headphones that had materialized in his hand and screamed again. This time, he screamed into a microphone that sounded like it was linked to mile-high speakers buried in the ground. 

Sparks flew from Mecha Mole. It was collapsing.

As Kirby screamed, he got an idea as to how he got this power. The vibrations from Mecha Mole's crashing sound must have entered Kirby's mouth in such a way that gave Kirby this sound-oriented ability. 

Kirby ran out of breath again. Now he climbed up on top of the immobilized Mecha Mole, grew a rock-star's green Mohawk and screamed one more time.

Mecha Mole shuddered... and then exploded.

Kirby awoke many hours later. He had so gotten used to not sleeping that he found this quite awkward. He looked around.

Some of the lights that once covered Mecha Mole were still shining, though they were spread all over the crater Kirby was sitting in. 

Maybe "crater" isn't quite the right word to describe it. Kirby was, of course, still underground, but was sitting in a sort of bubble in the center of a mass of stone. Kirby rummaged through all the pieces of Mecha Mole he could find and finally located the eye. 

Kirby picked up a rock and crushed the eye under it. Then he reached in and pulled out the sixth star rod shard!!!

Kirby popped it into his mouth and gained the most useful power he had gotten so far.


	46. Lucky Power 7

**Chapter 46: Lucky Power #7**

"Star Warrior," said the enchanting voice inside Kirby's head, "you now have six star rod shards and you need only one more to complete the collection. But the last piece will not be easy to obtain. You must seek a new ally. Without her help, the last piece will evade you forever. Look for a friend who is pink, like you. You will only find one and your opportunity for friendship will be short. Choose your words wisely.

"The last star rod shard is located somewhere in Rainbow Resort. You will face many trials on your way to your destination.

"Beware of deception, Star Warrior. You _must_ be _very_ careful. However, trusting certain individuals is essential. Among the individuals are these: one: the pink ally, and two: the traitor who you will soon be in contact with again.

"The power of the sixth star rod shard is this: you can now summon, at any time, any primary infinite-use ability you have used before and you can also combine them to create any combo ability, even unused ones. You will need a new ability to **spike** through this **stone** prison you're in. Good luck, Star Warrior. May you shine forth like a star."

Kirby, sensing the hint in the voice's words, summoned Needle and Stone abilities to become Drill Kirby! Kirby became a huge drill that burrowed diagonally upward through the stone surrounding him.

The drilling was fast. Kirby flew along the passageway. Up and up he went until–

He broke out. He was back in Big Forest. The fire was out. The devastation caused by it was all around him. Carbon dust was getting in his eyes. Kirby trashed his Drill ability to view his surroundings more clearly.

He could see the unsinged part of Big Forest far in the distance, but the place where he stood looked like a wasteland. 

He looked up into the sky. Kracko and the metal bird were gone, but something else was flying towards him.

It was the owl.

"Good day," it said, landing in front of Kirby.

"Uh... hi," said Kirby.

"Here is a possession of yours," said the owl, producing something from his feathers. "It was lost in the fire. I found it in the ash and am returning it to you now."

It was Gooey's cell phone.

Kirby stared at it, his mouth hanging open.

"The attack on Ice Dragon was successful," continued the owl. "He will sleep for 1,020 more years, according to the Odnetnin calendar. I invite you to join us for our celebration in Rainbow Resort. Come to 608 Sack Boulevard."

The owl flew off into the sky.

"I hope to see you there!" it said and was gone.

Kirby picked up the phone. At first, he just held it in his hand. He was unsure whether or not to speak into it. At second, he slowly brought it to his mouth, dryly parted his lips and said...

"Hello?"

"KIRBY!" exclaimed Gooey. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"No thanks to you," said Kirby, feeling a strange emotion rise in him. 

Kirby's memory sparked. Kracko was laughing at him. He was being called a loser. His emotion hole had been filled. His eyes were narrowing. The sides of his mouth were curling downwards. He was shaking.

"Kirby?" said Gooey in a small voice.

"What?" said Kirby harshly. The anger was consuming him again.

"Please, forgive me. I am so sorry. I should have done my job and not thought only of myself."

"You don't care about me do you?! You just care about your stupid job!"

"No, it's not like that."

"You abandoned me! The Meta Clan could have killed me if it wasn't for Kracko!"

"I know! I know! Just, trust m–"

"You don't deserve to be trusted, you traito–"

Kirby stopped. He had remembered something else, something more recent.

_"Trusting certain individuals is essential. Among the individuals are these: one: the pink ally, and two: the traitor who you will soon be in contact with again."_

"However..." began Kirby.

Gooey didn't answer. Kirby imagined he was very confused.

"...a little voice in my head told me to trust you," he finished.

"Really?" said Gooey, sounding shocked at this sudden change of heart. 

"Yes," said Kirby, his anger ebbing away.

"Kirby this really means a lot to me. You don't know what I've been through." 

"Nor do _you_ know what_ I_ have been through."

"No, you don't understand. Kirby, Marx is evil. He stole your phone! The Meta Clan didn't capture him until later. I had to endure hours of him gloating at me. It was agony. Then the Meta Clan got him and they threatened to trace the call, revealing my secret hideout, unless I cooperated." 

Kirby considered saying something along the lines of "You deserved it", but then he remembered that all that had happened _before_ Gooey had "abandoned" him. Kirby decided to disregard Gooey's story and change the subject.

"Well _I've_ been through Cavios," he said smugly.

"No. Really?"

"Yes."

"What happened down there?"

Kirby told him.

"So now you can summon powers! Very cool," said Gooey after Kirby's story.

"Yup," said Kirby in the same smug voice.

"Well, I'm proud of you," congratulated Gooey. "By the way, where is our next destination?"

"Rainbow Resort," answered Kirby. "Oh, and an owl has invited me to a party."

"What? This is great. Where is it?"

"608 Sack Boulevard."

"I know where that is. I'll send a warpstar right away. I hope you'll accept my thank-you-for-trusting-me-again gift of a maximum tomato."

"Yes, Gooey, I will." 

For the first time since Marx had stolen the phone, Kirby smiled.


	47. LAP

****

Chapter 47: LAP

608 Sack Boulevard was not the type of place you would expect to find a party. It was a hole in the ground that Kirby would have otherwise considered dangerous.

The warpstar plunged downward and suddenly emerged into the strangest room Kirby had ever seen.

Right in front of him was a banner with **LAP HQ** written on it. Under that was another banner that said **ICE DRAGON, MAY YOU REST AND FREEZE**. 

Kirby saw various interesting items around the room

Posters of King Dedede, Whispy Woods, Ice Dragon, Kracko, the Meta Clan and others around the walls, all with darts stuck in them. 

Book shelves that were littered (literally) with books of all shapes, colors and sizes. 

A giant rodent wheel. 

Sticks that poked out of the walls to serve as perches. 

A giant scratching post that was almost completely shredded. 

A huge glass water tank that looked unsanitarily green. 

A frayed ball of yarn. 

Assorted computers. 

A table covered in food. 

A tipped-over trashcan with garbage spilling out. 

A banner reading **WHISPY WOODS, MAKE LIKE YOURSELF AND LEAF **

A banner reading **KRACKO, YOUR EYE'S GONNA CRY **

A banner reading **ADO, HERE'S A STROKE OF BAD LUCK **

A banner reading **KING, YOU SHOULD BE DEDEDEMOLISHED **

A banner reading **META CLAN, YOUR PREPARATION WILL LEAD YOU TO DAMNATION **

Other banners with similar hate messages. 

Glittering lights hanging from the gravel ceiling. 

A desk covered with maps. 

Seeds, nut shells and wrappers littering the ground. 

Newspapers that were strewn all over. 

More stuff than can be put in this getting-too-long list.

All the animals were there: the owl, the hamster, the cat, the little bird, and the fish. There was also an octopus. The octopus was what caught Kirby's attention. She was pink.

The animals immediately noticed Kirby had arrived.

The cat: "Hey! Kirby's here!"

The little bird: "He came!"

The fish: "Haven't seen you in a while."

The owl: "Welcome."

The hamster: "Join the party!"

The octopus: "So you're Kirby..."

The animals surrounded Kirby.

"Hello, everybody!" greeted Gooey from the phone.

"Hey, Gooey!" chirped Pitch excitedly.

"We have not properly introduced ourselves," said the owl. He then saluted. "Coo, navigator."

The cat: "Nago, ninja."

The hamster: "Rick, technician."

The fish: "Kine, mariner and aquanaut."

The little bird: "Pitch, spy."

The octopus: "Chuchu, uh... well... I'm new here..."

"What she means to say is," Rick explained, "she has just recently joined our..." he made a glance in Coo's direction, sizing up which term to use, "organization and she hasn't been assigned a specific post yet."

"I know!" said Chuchu suddenly. "Chuchu, doer of miscellaneous tasks."

"Whatever," said Kine.

Kirby just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. He had never spoken to more than three people at once. Six was _twice _that amount. Kirby couldn't move.

Gooey broke the silence. "Okay, you can finish the introductions now."

"We already did," chirped Pitch.

"No you haven't," Gooey persisted. "Are Pon and Con on a mission or something?"

The animals did not reply. Instead, they bowed their heads.

"They're not..." began Gooey, tentatively.

"They fought heroically to the end," said Nago.

"No..." Gooey gasped.

"Kirby," explained Rick, "there used to be eight of us. There was everyone here, not including Chuchu, plus three others."

"Pon, Con, and Professor Birdbrain," Coo recited.

"Yes," continued Rick. "Pon and Con were a raccoon and a fox, respectively. They were best friends and had the same position: warrior. But then the Meta Clan–"

"Lousy, stinkin' buggers," interjected Nago.

"–created a huge robot called HR. HR stood for... oh, I already said it: Huge Robot. It could also transform at will into Human and Eagle forms, giving it two names: HR-H and HR-E."

"What's a... hoomin?" asked Kirby, confused.

"Human, noun, a being of the species _Homo sapiens_," said Coo as though reading the definition from a book. "Ado was a human."

"Oh," said Kirby, still unsure what it really meant.

"As I was saying," Rick pushed on, "HR was built to destroy the protectors. It first targeted us, the LAP. Our two warriors, Pon and Con, tried to destroy it, but... it was too powerful. Their efforts bought us enough time to escape and hide. If they had not fought, we would not be here today. The died heroic deaths."

"What about HR?" whispered Kirby.

"Wham Bam Rock, the Stone-Shadow hybrid of the Combo-Elementals, destroyed it when it next went after them," said Nago. "I wish we had such power."

"At least we don't have the Combo-Elementals' **job**," commented Kine. "You remember what happened to the Whammer when the Meta Clan made the sun and moon fight."

Everyone but Kirby shuddered.

"What about Professor Birdbrain?" whispered Kirby.

"We lost _him_ even before that," spat Kine. "He's a traitor. He eventually sided with the Meta Clan and has helped them on a few of their missions. He now goes by the name Captain Birdbrain. He piloted the spaceship that took them to the sun and the moon. He was also the captain on the great battleship Halberd."

"Anyone remember what position he had when he was with us?" asked Rick.

The animals looked at each other, but none of them knew.

"There must have been _some_ reason we called him 'Professor'," encouraged Pitch.

Silence.

"Oh, forget him!" Nago burst out. "He's a traitor! He doesn't deserve to be remembered!"

"By the way," interrupted Kirby, "What does LAP HQ mean?"

"HQ is an acronym for HeadQuarters," Coo began.

"And LAP stands for League of Animals for Protection. That's the name of this organization," Rick finished.

"Oh," Kirby replied. "Uh... Pleased to meet you."

Kirby had never been to a party before. As stated many chapters back, he avoided occasions that involved large crowds. He had never even been to a birthday party, but this is because no one has a birthday in Dreamland.

This is due to the fact that the planet Pop Star, on which Dreamland is located, does not orbit any sun. Instead, the sun and moon orbit the planet. The moon is of normal size, but the sun is the same size as the moon and orbits opposite it, the same distance from Pop Star. 

As I was saying, Kirby had never been to a party, so he didn't know what to do at one. He was a bit hungry, so he inhaled the entire contents of the buffet table, much to the dismay of the LAP who complained that he had eaten the last bits of their food. Kirby was trying to think of something to say when a familiar voice boomed down the entrance tunnel.

"Ah-_ha!_ I found you, Kirby! I knew you would come here! And _you_, Rick! You thought you were so clever wrecking the Halberd, but we knew who you were! We traced you back here and found your connection with Kirby! I knew all along that Kirby must have been working for the LAP. Not only that, animals, it looks like your secret base isn't so secret anymore! Now if you do not all come out and surrender Kirby, I will be forced to destroy you!"

Guess who.

"Oh no! It's Meta Knight! What do we do?!" yelled Kirby.

"Quick! Down this way!" shouted Pitch from the wall. "There's a secret passage out over here!"

"You have five seconds!" boomed Meta Knight.

The LAP pounded on the wall beside Pitch.

"FOUR!"

The wall crumbled, revealing a tunnel.

"THREE!"

Rick and Nago entered the tunnel.

"TWO!"

Pitch and Kine entered the tunnel.

"ONE!"

"Bah!" Coo scoffed. "Ladies–"

A torrent of water plunged down into the room. Kirby was hit hard and slammed against a wall. He could hear Coo be swept down the tunnel with a shriek of "first!" and Chuchu emit a scream of pain as she smashed into something that shattered on impact, probably the aquarium.

The room was quickly filled with water. However, Kirby could breathe underwater, so he was okay. Octopuses can also breathe underwater, so Chuchu was okay. 

Kirby swam to the tunnel and found that it had caved in. They were trapped.

Chuchu freaked out. "We're trapped! What do we do?! What do we do?! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"

"No we're not," assured Kirby, not sounding quite certain.

Kirby looked toward the entrance of the room and saw Meta Drone float in. 

"Affirmative," it said. "Kirby and Chuchu are trapped. Commencing with electrical surges."

A revving noise came from Meta Drone. It got faster and faster until– POW! Kirby felt a surge of pain as electricity surged through his body. 

The revving noise had slowed again, but was quickening rapidly. Kirby saw that the blast had knocked out Chuchu. He had to save her from being hit again.

So, Kirby went for the one thing the Meta Clan hadn't counted on: his ability to breathe underwater. If they knew, why would they be using such a simple plan? Kirby inhaled the trashcan and shot it at Meta Drone before it could release more electrical current into the water.

"Kirby is fighting back," said Meta Drone after hitting the wall. "Retreat, retreat."

It went back up the entrance tube.

Kirby tried to come up with a plan. If he stayed where he was, he was a sitting duck. However, if he went back up the entrance tube, he would come face-to-masks with the Meta Clan. Suddenly, it came to him. Drill ability! Kirby summoned Needle and Stone to become Drill Kirby! He grabbed Chuchu and bored, diagonally upward, away from the Meta Clan.

He soon broke free on Ride Avenue and called Gooey for help with reviving Chuchu.


	48. Pink Persuasion

****

Chapter 48: Pink Persuasion

Kirby pried Chuchu's mouth open and shoved in one of the maximum tomatoes he had gotten from Gooey. 

Chuchu woke up.

"What happened?" was the first thing she said.

"I saved you," answered Kirby, making a long story short.

"Oh."

Silence.

"Um... thanks!" said Chuchu, eventually. "That was, like, really nice of you. I have to go now."

"Why?" asked Kirby, taken aback.

"Uh... I, like, need to go to the LAP hiding place, where no one will find us."

"But... no. You need to come with me!" protested Kirby.

"No!" Chuchu exclaimed.

Kirby was shocked.

"Why not?" he asked. It was a fair question.

"'Cause I, like, don't wanna die!"

"You won't die." Kirby rolled his eyes.

"I gotta go!" Chuchu made to leave.

"No! Don't go!" Kirby rushed in front of her.

"Leave me alone!" she shrieked.

"But you _have_ to come with me!" persisted Kirby.

"Why is that?" spat Chuchu.

"Because..." 

Kirby faltered. He couldn't tell her that a voice inside his head had told him he would need her. She would think he was crazy. He hatched a plan.

"...of a prophecy," he finished.

"A prophecy?"

"Yeah! A prophecy that I would need your help to complete my mission!"

"And what mission is that?" She sounded suspicious.

Kirby told her the story of his wanderings and collecting of the star rod shards. Chuchu listened attentively, not interrupting once.

When Kirby had finished, she quickly said, "Okay, that's great. Buh-bye."

Chuchu turned to leave, but Kirby blocked her again.

"Go away!" she yelled.

"Now you listen to me!" shouted Kirby, grabbing one of her tentacles. "Either you come with me, or Dark Matter will envelop Pop Star in darkness and suck the life from the planet! Do you want that?!"

"No..." Chuchu tugged at the ribbon she wore.

"I didn't think so."

"But you won't win! We won't win! Star Warriors never win!"

"Whaddya mean, 'Star Warriors never win'?" 

Kirby suddenly realized that he was backing Chuchu into a dead-ended alleyway.

"I know what she means," said Gooey sullenly.

"Yeah?" Kirby stopped.

"Kirby," Gooey explained, "I'm not really allowed to be telling you this, but... Have you ever wondered why there aren't any Star Warriors around, sharing the stories of their adventures?"

Silence. Comprehension was dawning on Kirby.

"It's because no Star Warrior has ever survived his or her quest. They always complete enough of it so that the protectors can do the rest, but..."

"They die..." whispered Kirby.

He understood.

After a few seconds, Chuchu made another stab at leaving.

"AhyeswellIthinkyougetitsoI'mjustgonnaleavenowbye!" she said quickly and tried to side-step Kirby.

Kirby, however, his anger rising again, summoned Needle and Cutter abilities to become Snare Kirby. His spike-covered arms stretched wide and blocked the exit of the alleyway.

Chuchu stared. She looked half terrified and half amazed at Kirby's transformation.

"You... how..." she stammered.

"You'll learn to know many of my forms," said Kirby, "if you come with me and help. It's just the _Star Warriors_ who die. However, it'll be you too if you don't come. Say no and I'll kill you!"

"Kirby, no!" shouted Gooey from the phone. "No threats! Force her and she'll run away first chance she gets! You can't blame her for being terrified. She knows she isn't strong enough to come with you on your mission."

"What did you say?" interrupted Chuchu fiercely.

"Oh, I was just saying that you're right. You probably can't handle this mission. You're only a rookie." replied Gooey with his signature smart-alec tone of voice.

"_Only_ a _rookie?!_" growled Chuchu, seething. "A _ROOKIE?!_"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," baited Gooey.

"You have no idea what I went through to get the position I have now," retorted Chuchu. "I had to undergo a rigorous training and then compete for the job with 46 other applicants. I was chosen as the best, even though I'm a girl! I can handle anything."

"Well, Kirby here has calmed Whispy Woods, navigated through Butter Building, freed Lololo and Lalala from possession, defeated Ado, destroyed the Halberd and even unmasked the notorious Meta Knight. You'd never be able to do that in a million years!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Just set any of those tasks before me and I'll complete them so fast you won't even be able to finish saying 'go'."

"I'd love to see you try, but all of those 'tasks' were already completed by Kirby. How's _this_ for a trial: accompany us on this mission and see if you can recover the star rod shard like in the 'prophecy'."

Chuchu froze. It was as if she had suddenly turned to stone.

Kirby was confused again. He was confused too often these days and was getting tired of it.

Silence.

Eventually, Chuchu seemed to regain her composure.

"Very well," she said slowly. "I'll do it."

"Excellent!" cheered Gooey, making both Kirby and Chuchu jump. "To business then."

Snare Kirby transformed back into regular Kirby as Gooey explained the mission. The gist of it was that Kirby and Chuchu were to search Rainbow Resort for signs of the shard. They were also to watch out for the Meta Clan, Kracko, Dark Matter, and even Marx if he should ever return.

"...and remember," finished Gooey, "the shard will be guarded or held by some monster. Be on the look-out for signs that one is near."


	49. Travel Plans

****

Chapter 49: Travel Plans

Rainbow Resort is actually a giant tourist attraction for non-Dreamlanders. Its terrain varies from the tunnels and cliffs of Ice Passage to the streets and skyscrapers of Neo City (another locale where some Dreamlanders live). In the center of Rainbow Resort sits the Fountain of Dreams, which is what gives the residents of Dreamland their signature good dreams. 

The following is a list of the three greatest photo opportunities if you ever decide to visit Rainbow Resort. 

3. Titan Tower. You won't want to miss the tallest skyscraper in Dreamland. This great structure is said to reach the heavens. 

2. Monochrome Fields. Legend has it that, long ago, all of Dreamland was black and white. If the legend is true, then Monochrome Fields has never changed. You'll be in color, but the background won't!

1. The Fountain of Dreams. Of course you can't go to Dreamland without seeing the thing that first made it famous. This great fountain, with its shimmering waters and fabulous colors, is something you have to see to believe.

The Meta Clan landed on Ride Avenue some time later. Their warpstars were getting weak from overuse.

"Missed 'em again!" roared Meta Knight upon arrival. "How the heck could they have gotten out of our trap?!"

"Plan A failed," said Meta Drone.

"Um, Boss..." began Meta Axe.

"What?" spat Meta Knight. 

"I'm just wondering why we're still focusing on killing Kirby," said Meta Axe quickly.

"Kirby is currently the biggest threat to our plan," explained Meta Knight. "I know his mission is to defeat Dark Matter and we must prevent him from doing so. If he succeeds, all our planning will be for nothing. _We_ must be the ones to defeat Dark Matter. If Kirby does first, we lose. Got it?"

"Yes... Sir."

"Now, I have a fool-proof plan for killing Kirby," continued Meta Knight. "All we need to do is capture him when he doesn't have an acquired ability. He can't get any unless he inhales them. We can just get him in a place where he can't escape and then kill him."

"Excellent plan, Sir," said Meta Drone.

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Sand Canyon had fallen without a fight. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms in Sand Canyon.

Nightmare was flying up to the top of the pyramid where King Dedede stood.

"Ah, Nightmare," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "Is Kirby dead?"

"No," replied Nightmare quickly. "The Meta Clan were not successful and Kirby now has the sixth star rod shard."

"What?!"

"It was not my or their fault," continued Nightmare. "A great fire started."

"And why did you not put out the fire? Did you forget your mission?"

"I..." Nightmare faltered. "I... Well I couldn't... because..."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Mr. Storm, does it?"

"Yes!" cried Nightmare. "The eye lives! I was powerless to stop it! It was hurt by the Meta Clan and has gone insane!"

King Dedede growled under his breath.

"What?" asked Nightmare.

"I think it's time for you to show yourself to all and fight directly. Their happy dream must end."

"Yes, Dark Matter. Those pests will soon be exterminated."

Nightmare flew off to the east and Dark Matter turned to travel south.


	50. Freeze, Please

****

Chapter 50: Freeze, Please

Kirby and Chuchu used warpstars to fly to Ice Passage. 

A frigid gale welcomed them. Ice Passage is the coldest place in Dreamland, next to Great Iceberg, which is the home of Ice Dragon. Ice Passage is so cold, that all the rocks are covered with a sheet of ice.

Kirby and Chuchu first entered an ice-crusted tunnel.

Chuchu, with the ability to balance herself by extending her tentacles, seemed fine on the friction-deficient surface. Kirby, however, slipped and slid all over the place. 

"Oh, come on, Kirby," said Chuchu as she picked him up for the eighth time as they traveled through the tunnel. "Just try to balance."

"I can't!" moaned Kirby as his feet slid out from under him again.

"Kirby, I have good news," announced Gooey. "I have been compiling information and have a very long list of all the combo-abilities you can get."

"Ack!" choked Kirby. "Don't read them all to me! That would take forever!"

"Good reasoning," replied Gooey. "There are 78 in all. Anyway, there are three that I think you might find useful in this winding ice tunnel."

"Yeah?" said Kirby, sliding into a wall.

"Here they are," recited Gooey. "Number one: Fan. The combination is High-Jump + Cutter. A huge fan will attach to your back and propel you forward. Number two: Ice-Skater. The combination is Ice + Cutter. You will grow a pair of ice-skates and instantly become a master ice-skater. Lastly, number three: Laser. The combination is Spark + Beam. You will be able to shoot lasers out of a device you will wear. "Laser" is actually an acronym. It stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."

"...and it ricochets off walls too!" added Chuchu, clearly reciting something she had learned.

"Yes, exactly," continued Gooey. "With the Laser ability, you will be able to shoot beams that will bounce until they hit something that can be affected by them. This ability may come in handy as you travel through small tunnels."

"Okay. Thanks," replied Kirby. "I'm gonna try one right now."

Kirby summoned High-Jump and Cutter abilities to become Fan Kirby! Dark goggles appeared over Kirby's eyes and a huge electric fan attached to his back.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" yelled Kirby as he fired up the fan and shot through the tunnel at an amazing speed. He could only barely hear Chuchu's astonished "Wait!" before she was so far behind as to be inaudible.

The tunnel that Kirby flew through never branched off, so he just kept going, unable to stop. He eventually gave up on trying to get the fan to slow down and just trashed his power. The problem was that he stayed hurtling along, the ice preventing his speed from dropping. 

Kirby couldn't stop. He was spinning out of control. He was getting dizzy... he closed his eyes and tried not to scream. He felt that if he opened his mouth, he would vomit.

"Yes, I have a lock on him!" announced Meta Drone. "He has no ability and is traveling southeast at a speed of 16 miles per hour."

"Where?" replied Meta Knight quickly.

"He's currently about half way through tunnel R-1."

"Excellent, the shelter in that tunnel hasn't been used in ages. Let's give its security system a test-run, shall we? Send a message over the wiring that the shelter should seal itself shut just as soon as something enters. Got that?"

"Affirmative," confirmed Meta Drone. "Message sent."

Kirby awoke minutes later in a cubic room that was made completely out of ice. 

"Ha, ha! I've got you, Kirby!" said Meta Knight's voice over some sort of hidden speaker. "You're trapped and you have no power!"

"Oh, yeah?" retorted Kirby, standing up.

Kirby summoned Needle and Fire abilities to become Fire Arrow Kirby! Kirby shot flaming arrows in every direction, melting all the ice.

"What's he doing?" exclaimed Meta Knight. "He can't do that! He has to inhale something!"

"Damage to the shelter," said Meta Drone, "67, 73, 80, 85, 94, 99%."

"It's not possible..." said Meta Knight in disbelief.

Kirby melted all the ice, revealing stone surfaces and a metal door on either side of the room. A sparking wire protruded from the ground and Kirby went over to examine it. Since he could discern nothing specific from it, he summoned Spark ability and sent a huge amount of electric current through the wire.

Two things happened immediately. One: the doors on either side of the room began to open and shut, again and again, very quickly. Two: well, Kirby wasn't to know about this but...

All the Meta Clan quickly leapt away from Meta Drone, who had suddenly started shuddering and emitting sparks everywhere.

Meta Drone's voice came from the electrical blur, it's pitch and tone changing erratically. 

"Pla-a-a-p-p-p-pla-la-la-plan-pl-pl-pl-plan-n-n bee-b-bee-bee n b-bee-ee-ee fa-a-a-a-a-f-f-f ee-ee fail-ail-a-a-a-a-" the voice started to get slower and lower in pitch, "aaaaa-aaaaaaaaaiiiiiii-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllllllllllllllllled."

Meta Drone stopped sparking and his yellow eye turned black.

Kirby fried the cable until it disintegrated and the doors to the room stayed open. 

Kirby suddenly heard his name being yelled from a passage beyond one of the doors. The yelling became louder every second. About a minute later, Chuchu came sliding into the room.

"There you are!" she said. "Don't run away like that!"

"I didn't mean to," replied Kirby. "I lost control of my ability."

"You are so weird!" exclaimed Chuchu. "You can transform at will into bizarre forms and then you go berserk with them. Some way to be a hero."

Kirby did not respond. He had been struck dumb by this statement. Up until now, Kirby had thought his battle strategy made perfect sense.

Meta Sword detached Meta Drone's broken body from the wiring system of the shelter. Meta Axe removed his metal cap as Meta Drone was lain down in front of Meta Knight. 

Meta Knight said nothing. He looked down upon Meta Drone in sorrow. It was the first time any of the Meta Clan had been killed.

The Meta Clan all stood there for a few minutes, not saying a word. The wind howled around them, adding to the morose atmosphere. 

Eventually, Meta Knight looked up. He seemed to come out of a deep state of meditation. 

"Meta Chain," he said, "strap Meta Drone to his warpstar and pull it behind you using your chain."

"Yessir," replied Meta Chain gruffly and proceeded to follow Meta Knight's orders.

"Meta Knight! Sir!" exclaimed Meta Blade. "Meta Drone has just been killed! Shouldn't he have a proper burial or something?"

"We have no time for that now," replied Meta Knight. "Besides, he can be repaired."

"Sir, that is impossible," interjected Meta Axe. "Our technical expert would normally handle this type of matter, but that was Meta Drone and he obviously can't repair _himself_."

"Then he will need assistance won't he?" said Meta Knight.

Silence.

"Right now we must act as though he is dead," continued Meta Knight. "Kirby might know. Why else would he have electrocuted that wire?"

"Well," put in Meta Axe, "it could have been curiosity or—" 

"Shut up!" interrupted Meta Knight. "Meta Drone is dead, Kirby killed him, and Meta Drone's death... must be avenged."

Kirby and Chuchu emerged from "tunnel R-1" to find themselves atop a huge snow-covered mountain. A blizzard was raging around them and even Kirby (who, as a Dreamlander, was rather climate-resistant) had to shiver.

"Snow!" exclaimed Chuchu. "Oh, I love snow!"

Kirby did not respond. He had just heard something strange.

"Do you hear that?" he asked Chuchu.

"What?" said Chuchu.

Silence. Only the howling wind could be heard.

"I don't hear any—" began Chuchu.

"Shh!" hissed Kirby.

There it was again! That noise! Kirby now realized what it was: voices. After a few more seconds, he recognized Meta Knight's voice. The Meta Clan was headed their way. 

"It's the Meta Clan!" shouted Kirby suddenly.

They were within eyesight now and getting nearer every second. 

"Stand back, Kirby," said Chuchu, pushing him aside.

"Chuchu," shouted Kirby, "you can't fight the Meta Clan all by yourself!"

"Oh yes I can!" answered Chuchu and she made a swift swiping movement with one of her tentacles. Kirby stared as Chuchu held up a perfect snowball.

In an instant, Chuchu made the same movement with all the rest of her eight tentacles and held up a snowball in each.

"Let them come," she said as she faced the approaching Meta Clan.

Kirby hesitantly backed away.

Just as the Meta Clan got within range, Chuchu began spinning her tentacles very fast and they were blasted by a bombardment of snowballs. 

The battle was short. In the end, Chuchu sat in a pit of snow (she had been throwing so much at the Meta Clan that she had had none left to stand on) and the Meta Clan had retreated.

"Chuchu! Great job!" shouted Kirby into the pit as Chuchu began to climb out of it.

"Thanks!" replied Chuchu.

"'Course," continued Kirby, "it's not much different from what I do."

"Oh, come on," retorted Chuchu, surfacing from the pit. "It's completely different."

"No, you went berserk with an ability of yours just as I do."

It was Chuchu's turn to be speechless. She tugged at the ribbon she wore and looked to the side.


	51. The TACtical Advantage

****

Chapter 51: The TACtical Advantage

In the northwestern part of Rainbow Resort, there is a small suburb of Neo City. This innocent-looking neighborhood was never where one might expect great mischief to fester. 

The Meta Clan's warpstars were nearly out of power now as the defeated group landed at a place near the end of the very long Sack Boulevard. They proceeded to enter a rather run-down shop.

A little bell rang as Meta Knight pushed the door open and the Meta Clan was greeted by a sly, yet commercialistic voice.

"Welcome, welcome!" said the voice. "Welcome to Tac's Repair or Snare! How may I be of service?"

After this greeting, the speaker slunk out of the shadows in the back of the building. He was a cat, dressed in a ninja's outfit, and carrying a sack with strange green-and-white designs on it.

"Hello," said Meta Knight in his most icy tone of voice.

The cat made a little shriek and its eyes widened.

"Meta Knight!" he squeaked. "What are you doing here?"

"We require your assistance," said Meta Knight slowly as if the words cost him a great deal of effort to speak.

The cat's eyes narrowed to their usual slits and he replied loftily, "Oh, really? Why come _here_ for assistance? You don't need _me_. I'm just Tac, the 'terrible alley-cat'. You have your own tech boy and your own thieving skills. Why come here for _my_ less-than-up-to-scratch abilities? Or have you come to gloat again? C'mon, bring out that old metal bucket o' brains. What slanderous stunt does Meta Drone have for me today?"

Silence.

Then, the Meta Clan parted and Meta Sword laid Meta Drone down at Tac's feet. Tac's eyes widened again. This was clearly not what he had expected.

Tac just stood there for a number of seconds, staring wide-eyed down at Meta Drone. Then he slowly narrowed his eyes again and looked back at Meta Knight.

"Would..." began Meta Knight and stopped.

"...you..." encouraged Meta Axe.

"...fix..." continued Meta Lance.

"...him?" finished Meta Blade.

Tac made no indication that he had heard this hard-spoken question. He stood there for a few seconds without moving at all. Then he slowly smiled; and even though his ninja suit covered his mouth, it was obvious that he was grinning.

"No..." he said slowly, savoring the moment.

"What?!" exclaimed Meta Knight.

"I will not fix him," said Tac. "Good day to you." He turned to slink back into the shadows.

"We will pay you!" shouted Meta Knight. 

"No," replied Tac, walking away, "your groveling and disappointment are enough for me."

"We will secure your place with us again!" shouted Meta Knight, hoping against hope that he could cheat Tac out of this favor.

Tac stopped.

"I have a better idea," he said. "This shop of mine doesn't get much publicity. However, I have reason to believe that, with the Meta Clan's connections, I can finally get some profit."

"I would never advertise your business," spat Meta Knight.

"Then I will never fix your robotic companion," retorted Tac, turning to walk away again.

"Stop!" pleaded Meta Knight.

Tac stopped.

"So, you'll do it then?" he said without turning around.

"Yes," whimpered Meta Knight.

"Pardon? Didn't catch that."

"I'll do it!" shouted Meta Knight.

"Excellent!" cheered Tac, turning around, beaming. "Now, where is the specimen?" He picked up Meta Drone and turned to walk back into the darkness.

"Come... if you dare," he said in an evil-sounding voice.

The Meta Clan exchanged glances.

"If you couldn't tell," continued Tac without turning around, "that was a joke. Follow me!"

Meta Chain shrugged and followed. Meta Knight quickly went next. Meta Sword and Meta Blade held hands and went after that. (Hey, they _are_ best friends.) Meta Axe and Meta Lance slowly brought up the rear.

The following is an excerpt from Curiosity File #19 in Gooey's data archives.*

__

I have run across an interesting piece of evidence that there was, at one point, an additional member of the notorious Meta Clan. His name was Meta Snare and he was the Meta Clan's thief and (before Meta Drone was created) technical expert. 

However, after Meta Drone's appearance, Meta Snare seemed to participate less and less in the Meta Clan's capers. Eventually, all evidence of Meta Snare's continuing assistance of the Meta Clan ceased. My theory is that he resented Meta Drone's greater skill with electronics and finally left the team, feeling unneeded and unwanted. 

I have continued to gather evidence and have formed a hypothesis as to where this "Meta Snare" has run off to. He has probably opened a shop somewhere in Rainbow Resort that deals with thievery and mechanical reparation, his two skills. Although, I have yet to determine how he evades the ever-watching LAP. 

As my research continues, I feel that there is becoming less and less information to draw from. I fact, Meta Snare seems to have gone to great lengths to erase all evidence that he ever existed. Even the sources I check repeatedly to uncover more of his secrets seem to be disappearing. I do not know why this is happening, but it seems that Meta Snare is more resentful of the Meta Clan than anyone in Dreamland. Why he continues to pursue a criminal life, however, remains open to many explanations.

*The Curiosity Files are incidents or people that Gooey has researched extensively, either because he was curious or because he was bored.


	52. Nightmare Machine Evil

****

Chapter 52: Nightmare + Machine = Evil

For the rest of the exploration of Ice Passage, Kirby used Ice-Skater ability. He found that it gave him much more control than Fan. After wandering through more tunnels than can be described, Kirby and Chuchu finally made it to the peak of the tallest mountain in Rainbow Resort. It was nowhere near the height of the tallest mountain in the Frozen Hillside mountain range where Mr. Frosty lives, but it was still pretty high.

Every time Kirby and Chuchu entered a snow-covered environment, Chuchu would erect a snowman. Kirby was unsure as to what these cairns of snow signified, but he just let Chuchu do whatever she was doing without questioning her.

Well, without questioning until now.

"Why do you keep making those?" asked Kirby as Chuchu made another one on the very peak of the mountain.

"I, like, told you," replied Chuchu. "They're called snowmen."

"But, why do you keep making them?"

Chuchu hesitated for a moment, trying to come up with some explanation. Then she replied, "'Cause they're, like, fun."

"'Like fun'?" 

"Uh-huh." Chuchu gouged out the mouth and eyes of her snowman with one of her tentacles and stood back to admire her work against the sunrise.

"Excellent work," announced Gooey from the phone. "Your excavation of Ice Passage has proved that the star rod shard does not reside there."

"Where to next?" replied Kirby, to the point as usual.

"Ooh! Ooh!" interrupted Chuchu. "Let's go to the Fountain of Dreams! That's got to be, like, the most obvious place for a shard to be."

"Very well," agreed Gooey. "I shall send you each a warpstar to the Fountain of Dreams."

Deep in the dungeons of Castle Dedede there lies mountains of strange machinery. These were built long ago by the ancient Dreamlanders, who were trying to see how many different things they could do with technology. Hopefully, it would aid them in some way.

It did. 

After ages of horrific gene-splicing, those early Dreamlanders created "super-crops" that grew themselves and spread quickly. However, when released into the wild, all non-super-crops were deprived of room to grow and it seemed as though those plants would eventually become extinct. Before the Dreamlanders could rectify the situation, however, the growth genes of the super-crops ended up infesting all plants. 

Now food is so bountiful that Dreamlanders do not need to work at all. 

The machines were no longer needed. They were abandoned.

Then came King Dedede. He found the machines and built a castle on top of them. The dungeons of his castle are their home now. Since their abandonment by the early Dreamlanders, the machines have only been used twice... and one of those times, as this story goes, is about to occur.

Marx was flung onto one of the machines and strapped to a conveyor belt that led into it. Dark Matter had not yet given him back the ability to speak. 

Marx had been brought there in the dark tentacles that stretched from the huge dark ball that housed Dark Matter's eye.

A random blue Dreamlander of the name Tytyty had accompanied them into the dungeons. This Dreamlander was, like all Dreamlanders except for Kirby, possessed by Dark Matter. 

"Any last words?" said Tytyty, placing his hand on the lever connected to the conveyor belt.

Dark electricity surged through one of the tentacles, which touched Marx, allowing him to speak again.

Marx filled his lungs.

"Don't scream," interrupted Tytyty. "If you do, you shall go in that much sooner. You should try to make the most of your last moments of free will."

"Why doesn't _that_ thing talk?" said Marx angrily, jerking his head towards Dark Matter's eye. 

"I cannot," said Tytyty. "My minions can."

"C'mon, Eye!" taunted Marx. "Speak to me!" 

"Stop that," replied Tytyty.

"Know what?" hissed Marx. "I've thought up my last words!" 

"And they are?"

"Dark Matter," screamed Marx, "YOU SUCK!"

Tytyty, with a look of utmost fury on his face, pulled the lever all the way down and Marx shot into the center of the great machine.

"Kirby," said Gooey suddenly as Kirby and Chuchu were en route to the Fountain of Dreams, "my sensors are picking up a strange sort of anomaly following you. What is it?"

Kirby looked around. Sure enough, something was tailing him and Chuchu.

"I don't know," replied Kirby.

"Me neither," put in Chuchu.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough," continued Gooey. "It's gaining on you."

After a few minutes, Kirby and Chuchu could discern what the thing looked like. For its full description, go back to chapter 40. If you don't want to do that, then I hope the following 3-word sentence will be enough for you.

It was Nightmare.

Kirby took a picture of Nightmare using the phone.

"Uh-oh," replied Gooey. "His name is Nightmare and he's a by-product of Dark Matter."

"By-product?" repeated Kirby, confused.

"Let's just say that..." Gooey faltered. "Hmm... how to put this..."

Kirby didn't quite understand Gooey's problem, but Chuchu did. Here's why: When Dreamlanders eat, they actually consume all of what goes in, no waste. It seems to defy logic. It's as if there was a black hole inside every Dreamlander. Strange I know, but no explanation of this has been made and that means I can't give you one.

All other creatures... well... something has to come out the other end... the waste product, to put it lightly. Dark Matter is no exception. 

For now, let's just leave it at this: As Dark Matter feeds, Nightmare becomes stronger. This will all be explained in a subsequent chapter.

"Oh, I get it..." said Chuchu. She then looked behind her and shuddered.

"Is there any way for these warpstars to go faster?" she asked.

"You're currently traveling at maximum speed," replied Gooey. "I can't help you."

"Who's Nightmare?" said Kirby more loudly than before.

"He's bad," finished Gooey. "All you need to know is that he works for Dark Matter, yet is not controlled by it. By the way, you're nearly to your destination."

Kirby looked at Nightmare again and then—

"Watch out!" he yelled, turning sharply to avoid a dark star-shaped bullet. Nightmare had shot it.

Suddenly, more dark stars flew past Kirby and Chuchu. Kirby dodged as best he could and managed to evade all of them. Chuchu, however, took a hit that destroyed her warpstar.

Kirby turned his warpstar sharply around and raced down toward Chuchu's falling body. He just barely got under her and she landed on his head.

Another warpstar flew over to Kirby and Chuchu climbed onto it.

"Thanks!" she said to Kirby.

"No time to talk," interrupted Kirby, flying over to Nightmare.

Kirby summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby! Nightmare loomed in front of him. Kirby and the warpstar, together, were just about the size of Nightmare's face. 

Nightmare grinned, revealing vampire-like fangs. 

"I'm not sure who you are," shouted Kirby, "but I know you work for Dark Matter and a friend of that is an enemy of mine!"

"Just try to hurt me," jeered Nightmare, looking at Darth Kirby's double light saber. "This is a duel you cannot win."

"That's what they all say," retorted Kirby. "You're goin' down, Nightmare!"

Kirby flew his warpstar right at the "cloak-covered" part of Nightmare and gave it a couple dozen slices with his light saber.

Nightmare laughed and swatted Kirby away with one of his floating hands. 

Kirby righted himself and flew his warpstar back at Nightmare, this time aiming for the face. 

Chuchu, meanwhile, flew around to the back of Nightmare, grabbed hold of his horns and pulled as hard as she could, but even using the force of the warpstar, Nightmare didn't budge.

Kirby plunged half his light saber into Nightmare's left eye. 

Nightmare swiped at Kirby with his hand, but Kirby flew away again, evading the attack. Chuchu flew over to Kirby.

"How do we hurt this guy?" said Chuchu. "We need to come up with a plan."

"Here's one," interrupted Nightmare as he opened up his "cloak". 

Beneath the "cloak" was a shimmering spike of energy, the same energy in Nightmare's eyes. But Kirby and Chuchu only had a second to gaze at it, for shooting out of it came a barrage of dark star bullets. 

Kirby, thinking fast, pulled Chuchu off her warpstar, which was instantly destroyed by a dark star, put her on his head and proceeded to dodge like he had never dodged before. 

Kirby finally managed to get out of the line of fire. He summoned Fire and Needle abilities to become Fire Arrow Kirby. He then shot one flaming arrow into the shimmering spike of Nightmare energy.

The arrow was disintegrated. Nightmare laughed. A dark star bullet hit Kirby's warpstar... and it was all over. 


	53. Born to be Wired

****

Chapter 53: Born to be Wired

Click.

"Well, well, well. Let's see what we have here."

Tac and the Meta Clan were gathered around a small table. On that table was Meta Drone. The robot's head was completely dissected, revealing a huge network of wires, circuit boards, and chips. Tac was preparing to examine all the pieces and it was he who had spoken.

"Will this hurt him?" asked Meta Chain.

"No," replied Tac, sounding as though he deeply wished it would.

Tac picked up one chip near the far end of the mess.

"Oh, goody," he announced, with a complete lack of enthusiasm. "This is Meta Drone's memory database chip. It is undamaged. Looks like he'll still be able to remember all the times he humiliated me."

The Meta Clan exchanged glances. Tac put the chip aside and picked up a new one near the middle of the mess.

"This one's his language chip. Looks like he'll still be able to insult me in every language imaginable."

The Meta Clan exchanged more glances. Tac put that chip next to the first one and picked up a third in the lower-left area.

"This one's his tactics chip. I guess he'll still be able to devise more schemes to besmirch my name."

The Meta Clan exchanged even more glances. This was not the type of step-by-step explanation they had bargained for. Tac placed that chip with the first two and picked up a fourth from the chips closest to him.

"This one's his weaponry chip. He'll still be able to shoot those spears that he's poked me with so many times."

The Meta Clan was getting really nervous by now. They had only twice seen Tac lose his temper. The second time was when he left the Meta Clan and the first was when he destroyed the original Mecha Mole. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.

"Ooh..." Tac grinned, holding up a fifth piece. "This one's his vocabulary usage chip. It has been almost completely incinerated. He must have been talking at the time."

The Meta Clan watched as Tac placed this chip apart from the others he had already examined. They felt sorry that the chip was so badly damaged, but glad that that seemed to have improved Tac's mood.

"Here's his 'friend or foe' chip," said Tac in a bored tone of voice. "No damage here. He'll still know I'm not to be trusted."

The Meta Clan exchanged glances again, but this time for a different reason.

The examination continued for what felt like hours. After extensive study, Tac had concluded that the following chips were not damaged or easily repairable: teamwork, logic, flight, basic functions, vision, eyepieces, signal, emergency, radio, sensor, procedure, gadget, reaction, the ones stated already and a number of other less-important ones. However the vocabulary usage chip wasn't the only thing that was damaged. The mood chip was somewhat burned. The regulator chip had a piece missing. All information on the battle chip had been erased. The self-repair chip was broken into eight fragments. Lastly, the manual control chip had melted.

Not to mention that most of the wiring had been fried and needed to be replaced.

Tac now positioned himself closer to his collection of Meta Drone's damaged chips. He placed the vocabulary usage chip under a microscope and proceeded to study it.

"My, my," said Tac. "Well, I should have expected as much."

"What?" asked Meta Lance.

"This is very complex artificial intelligence. Not easy to replicate or repair. I wish I had met the mastermind behind this piece of machinery."

"Same here," agreed Meta Knight.

"I shall do my best to fix it," continued Tac, "but Meta Drone may never be the same again."

Tac put that chip aside on a different table and placed the mood chip under the microscope.

"The technology in _this_ chip is even _more_ complex," he said, astounded, "though it is not too badly damaged, it will still be a great challenge to repair." 

Tac proceeded to the regulator chip.

"This chip," explained Tac, "regulates all internal functions and electrical currents. The missing piece cannot be replicated, but there is a chance that this will not be a problem for Meta Drone's functions."

Tac proceeded to the battle chip.

"Not even the slightest bit of information here. This chip will need to be replaced. I will create a new one, but I will not be able to maintain his original battle strategy. That was destroyed with the battle chip."

Tac threw away the pieces of the self-repair chip and the warped metal that was once the manual control chip.

"These were irreparable," he explained, "and no replacements can be made. Meta Drone will no longer be able to fix small amounts of damage to his person or be controlled by the panel in his back."

Silence. The members of the Meta Clan were only now realizing that Meta Drone was completely at Tac's mercy.

"Meta Clan," announced Tac, "you must now exit this room. This is a delicate procedure and I must have privacy."

"We have to leave?!" exclaimed Meta Blade. "But... you never needed privacy when fixing stuff for us before."

"Well," replied Tac, "I've never repaired something this complex before. I do require that you return to the waiting room. This may take a while."

After much grumbling and exchanging of glances, the Meta Clan filed out.

Eight hours, twelve minutes and forty-three seconds later, Tac reemerged from the darkness. The Meta Clan stood waiting, anxious looks on their faces. They watched Tac's every movement for some signal... some sign... that the operation had been successful.

Tac opened his sack, pulled out Meta Drone and laid him on the ground.

"This is the moment of truth," said Tac. "This is the moment when we shall all see if my operation succeeded. Meta Drone must only be given power." He pulled a plug from Meta Drone's backside and went over to an outlet, preparing to insert the plug into it. "As always, he will need to charge up in order to function. It is now that I must warn you. Once Meta Drone is activated, there will be no way to turn him off, as his manual control chip is gone. If my repairs have not been successful... I don't know what may happen. Are you sure you want me to do this?"

YES! YES!" shouted the Meta Clan. "PLUG HIM IN!"

"Okay." Tac smiled and inserted the plug.

Meta Drone's yellow eye switched on and he righted himself off the ground. Everyone was watching him... waiting...

A strange sound emanated from Meta Drone. It wasn't his usual monotonic voice, but a whole new type of speech. The accent was disturbing, the voice seemed unnatural, and the words... were so scary that the Meta Clan would be forever haunted by this moment.

"Hey, dudes!" said Meta Drone.

No one moved. They just stood there, staring. This just didn't make sense. It didn't compute. 

"Aw man. Thanks fer repairing me an' all, dudes," continued Meta Drone, as if his first words weren't shocking enough. "I mean, I was all dead... like, and then ya saved me so we're all cool now... yeah..."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" burst out Meta Knight.

"I... uh..." faltered Tac. "I fixed him."

"NO YOU DIDN'T!!!"

"Aw, I'm sorreh dudes," interrupted Meta Drone. "I didn' mean ta, like, disappoint ya or anything. I mean, I dun see anything wrong wit me. I know I took that gnarly shock to the system, but everything's cool now." He paused and looked around. "Uh, dudes?"

The Meta Clan was, once again, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Does that sound fixed to you?" said Meta Knight icily.

"Yeah," answered Tac without the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Sure."

"Well, NOT TO ME! YOU HAD BETTER TAKE HIM BACK RIGHT NOW AND RE-FIX HIM! I WANT HIM SOUNDING LIKE HIS OLD SELF AGAIN BEFORE NIGHTFALL!"

"Oh, I can't do that," said Tac.

"WHY NOT?"

"I told you. 'Once Meta Drone is activated, there will be no way to turn him off, as his manual control chip is gone.' That's what I said."

"WHY YOU LITTLE PIECE OF %*$#@!" shouted Meta Knight as he made a motion to draw his sword. Then Meta Knight stopped and stared. There was no sword in his hand... or in its sheath.

"Have you forgotten my other profession, Meta Knight?" gloated Tac. "I thought you might try to hurt me, so I have stolen your weapon."

"Meta Clan," yelled Meta Knight, "attack!"

But the Meta Clan didn't move, they just looked around as if they were trying to locate something.

"I stole their weapons too," explained Tac, "and Meta Drone here doesn't have enough battery charge to hurt me yet."

Meta Knight raced at Tac, but Tac pulled Meta Knight's sword out of the sack and got ready to slice with it. Meta Knight stopped.

"Good boy..." said Tac. "Now, if you don't mind..."

Tac snapped his fingers and suddenly the sounds of a helicopter were heard from above the shop. A ladder dropped through a skylight and Tac climbed onto it.

"You can forget about the advertising deal we had, Meta Knight," shouted Tac above the noise. "I can just sell your weapons and get rich all by myself. Pleasure doing business with you."

Tac grinned and began to climb.

Just then Meta Drone's yellow eye became a little brighter.

"Meta Drone," said Meta Knight quickly, "attack!"

Tac's eyes widened and the Meta Clan could easily see him say the phrase "Uh-oh." 

Meta Drone leapt into the air and shot a barrage of spears at Tac, who shrieked and climbed faster, shielding with the sack. Tac was going faster and faster; the sack was getting punctured with dozens of spears... The sack ripped open. The Meta Clan's weapons spilled out. Tac entered his helicopter and sped off into the sunset.

"Aw DUDE!" exclaimed Meta Drone. "That was SWEET. Didja see that? I was all POW, POW, POW! And he was all 'Aaaaah!' And I was all pokin' the spears into his twisted sack. I mean, what a TUBULAR battle, man. Aw, yeah. Peace out, Tac! Yeah, that's right motha %@*$#! In yo FACE!"

The Meta Clan stared at Meta Drone, who was making strange gestures with his body. Then they slowly gathered up their stuff and, along with the "newly-repaired" Meta Drone, flew away on the warpstars.

They never saw Tac again.


	54. The Dream State

****

Chapter 54: The Dream State

"Kirby."

Silence. Darkness was everywhere. There was the horrible feeling that the air was thicker... polluted... dead...

"Kirby, wake up!"

Kirby opened his eyes. Tentacles were wrapped around him and he was being shaken, but as Kirby's vision focused, he saw that the tentacles were pink, not black, and belonging to...

"Chuchu?" said Kirby weakly.

"Don't scare me like that, Kirby!" yelled Chuchu, shaking him harder. "I thought you were dead!"

Kirby felt as though he was about to puke, something about the atmosphere seemed unnaturally sluggish...

Then it hit him.

"Are we underwater?" he managed to ask.

"What does it look like?!" scoffed Chuchu.

"How..."

"When that bullet hit the warpstar, we were blasted away. Then we landed here, in the Fountain of Dreams."

"You mean, we made it?"

"Yeah."

"But what happened to this place?"

The water was dark and murky. The terrible odor of death and decay was everywhere. 

"Dark Matter and Nightmare have polluted this fountain and robbed it of power," explained Chuchu, "but this place is still sacred and they cannot capture us if we stay underwater."

"Hey," interrupted Gooey, "that's my line."

Silence. Kirby and Chuchu waited for about a minute to see if Gooey had anything else to say. He didn't.

"So," began Kirby, "what do we do now?"

"I dunno," replied Chuchu.

"Well, I can tell you one thing for sure," said Gooey, "and that is that the final star rod shard is not located in the vicinity of the Fountain of Dreams."

"Just great," said Kirby. "We may as well _be_ captured. We can't leave the water as long as Nightmare is guarding us—"

"Which he is," put in Chuchu.

"—and that means that Dark Matter could win while we're down here and there would be nothing we could do about it!"

"I'll try to devise a plan," said Gooey quickly, "but I can't promise anything. This may be a no-win situation."

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Red Canyon had fallen without a fight. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms in Red Canyon.

A strange monster was flying up to the top of the great boulder where King Dedede stood. It wore a jester's hat and brown shoes. It's main body was squat and made up mostly by its light-purple head, which featured a huge mouth and bulging eyes with pupils like slits. Wiry, featherless, golden wings protruded from either side of the monster's body. Instead of flapping these wings, the monster would stay aloft by continuously shooting streams of glittery particles from the undersides of each one. Each particle would disintegrate as soon as it got a few feet away from the wing it came out of. Clawed hands that were the same color as the monster's body were gripping the wings and the joints. 

"Ah, Marx," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words, "let me have a look at you."

"Yes, master," replied Marx in an evil, wailing screech of a voice.

King Dedede inspected Marx by pulling at his wings, checking his eyes, etc. As King Dedede did this, he said, "I have decided not to put you under complete possession as I did most of my minions. Instead, I have tainted your mind so that you will be my servant, yet still be able to think for yourself. However, I can change my mind at any time and make you into a puppet like the rest. Is that clear?"

"Yes, master." 

"Good. Now, I have a mission for you. Go to the volcano called Heat Top. It resides north of Neo City in Rainbow Resort. There you will find a lava monster by the name of Magman. Dispose of him with your ice bombs, he is no longer of any use to me. Then take the star rod shard that he has been guarding and guard it yourself. Locate the Star Warrior that goes by the name of Kirby and make sure you stay as far away from him as possible. However, stay within Rainbow Resort, you will be more easily detectable by protectors' sensors if you don't. Understand?"

"Yes, master." 

"Excellent. Now go."

"Yes, master. Right away, master. Whatever you say, master. Of course, master. Very well, master. Your wish is my command, master."

"Shut up and go!"

"Hee, hee. Okay."

Marx flew off to the northwest and King Dedede turned to travel southwest.

"There!" shouted Meta Lance, pointing. "Hovering over the Fountain of Dreams!" 

"What is it?" said Meta Chain.

"I can't believe it," said Meta Knight, "we have located Nightmare, Dark Matter's most trusted assistant."

"Should we attack?" asked Meta Blade.

"I think not," answered Meta Knight. "Let's observe him first, check what he's doing. We don't want to interrupt, do we?"

Silence. The Meta Clan exchanged glances and then slowly turned their heads toward Meta Drone.

Meta Knight sighed and said slowly, "Seeing as we can't risk getting any closer, would you, Meta Drone, use your eyepiece to zoom in on Nightmare?"

"Alright, dudes!" said Meta Drone while the rest of the Meta Clan cringed. "C'mon, Nightmare," he continued while focusing his eyepiece, "show me some love."

The Meta Clan waited for about a minute and then Meta Drone finally announced, "Aw, man, dudes. This Nightmare guy is lame. All he does is, like, float there."

Silence.

"He's got a gnarly costume though," continued Meta Drone. "It's, like, all dark... and... and, like, swirly... I mean, it's awesome, dudes. Yeah..."

Meta Drone refocused his eyepiece to its normal setting and stared around at the other members of the Meta Clan. They all seemed to be on the verge of crying.

"Uh, dudes?"

Silence.

Meta Axe seemed to regain his composure.

"So, we attack, right?" he asked. "If Nightmare's not doing anything, then there's no point not to... right?"

"I suppose you're right," answered Meta Knight. "Everyone, back on the warpstars! Nightmare falls today!"

The Meta Clan boarded their warpstars and proceeded to fly off to the Fountain of Dreams, but there was a sudden tremor in the warpstars. The warpstars had been used for too long a time too often. They were out of power.

The air was suddenly filled with the Meta Clan's cries of "Whoa!" "Hey!" "Aaaah!" "What's happening?!" and "Look out!"

Each warpstar in turn made a violent shake that threw their riders off. After each warpstar lost its rider, it sped away, stuck into the ground or some other surface, and then exploded.

The Meta Clan tumbled to the ground and slowly stood up again.

Silence.

"On foot then!" shouted Meta Knight and the Meta Clan ran off toward the Fountain of Dreams to tackle the Nightmare above it.


	55. The Power of a Rival

****

Chapter 55: The Power of a Rival

"Kirby! Chuchu!" said Gooey suddenly. "Nightmare is on the move!" 

"Really?" replied Kirby. "Are you sure?" 

"Absolutely! I'm always sure! But I don't know why."

"You don't know why you're sure?" said Chuchu with a puzzled look on her face.

"No," answered Gooey. "I mean I don't know why he's moving."

"Oh," said Kirby and Chuchu together.

"However, I also have some bad news," continued Gooey.

"Oh, no," said Chuchu. "What is it?"

"Since your battle with him, Nightmare seems to have grown a considerable amount."

"B-b-but..." stammered Kirby. "How?"

"It is possible that Dark Matter has just fed on a great bounty. This would cause Nightmare to grow."

"Well, I'm glad he's leaving," said Kirby.

"I don't think he's leaving," replied Gooey. "He's just... writhing around, or something... Wait! What's this?! Kirby! Chuchu! Get out of the water now! You've gotta see this!"

"Initiate Nightmare attack formation A!" shouted Meta Knight as the Meta Clan arrived at the Fountain of Dreams.

Nightmare turned and saw the seven warriors jump at his cloak-covered part. The Meta Clan began hacking and smashing Nightmare's cloak.

Nightmare swiped at the Meta Clan with his floating hands.

"He's fighting back!" shouted Meta Knight. "Now, initiate Nightmare attack formation B!"

The Meta Clan jumped on Nightmare's hands. Nightmare shook his hands to throw the Meta Clan off them, but the Meta Clan was too fast. They used the propulsion of Nightmare's hand jostling to throw themselves onto his face. The Meta Clan then drove their weapons into his eyes, but the weapons would just shoot back out again.

"We need something to force them in!" hissed Meta Knight.

Nightmare, still unhurt, clapped his hands to his face, hoping to squash the Meta Clan.

"Perfect," said Meta Knight with a complete lack of sarcasm as he and his crew were crushed by the hands.

Kirby and Chuchu surfaced from the water. They immediately saw Nightmare, who was at least ten times the size he was when they fought him, with his hands pressed into his face.

But then, Nightmare quickly withdrew his hands to reveal that his eyes were going haywire. Bright sparks and pieces of shimmering Nightmare essence were shooting out of them. Nightmare's cloak flew open and the Meta Clan jumped out.

Nightmare was writhing around, howling in pain.

"No!" he yelled. "It is impossible! No weapon can harm me!"

"I beg to differ," replied Meta Knight.

Dark clouds gathered over the battle. Meta Knight raised his sword. Kirby looked at the sword. It seemed quite normal, except for its slightly orange color.

"Behold!" shouted Meta Knight as lightning struck the sword, causing a great light to shine off of it. Sparks were everywhere and Meta Knight's cape nearly tore from his back as it was blown by the wind. A blast of electricity shot from either side of the sword, then again on either side higher up. After that a huge jolt sent the lightning back up into the sky.

"...the power of the sacred sword Galaxia!" finished Meta Knight, his usually amber-yellow eyes flaming red. The sword was shining gold. It now had four extra points around its edge, which pointed forward on the sword. 

As Nightmare shrieked in disbelief, Gooey was ecstatic. 

"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking all my life for that sword and now it's right in front of me! This is the best d—"

Gooey stopped, he seemed to have just realized something.

He swore and continued, "This is the worst day of my life. The exact person I would least want to possess Galaxia is now wielding it. This means the Meta Clan _does_ have the power to destroy Dark Matter! This is bad..."

Nightmare shot a barrage of dark star bullets at Meta Knight, who slashed through any that came close to hitting him. Meta Knight then jumped toward Nightmare's shimmering spike of energy and plunged Galaxia into its center.

Nightmare let loose a long wailing scream. A black blood-like substance gushed from his mouth. Each of his hands melted. His shoulder plates and necklace exploded. His face cracked and shattered. His cloak set on fire and burned to ashes. The shimmering spike of energy got smaller and smaller around the sword before disappearing altogether. Finally, only his horns were left on the ground, but as the wind blew, they disintegrated and the dust was swept away.

Meta Knight picked up his sword, which had transformed back into its former much-more-normal-looking shape and returned it to its sheath. His eyes were their normal color again.

"Excellent work!" he said as the rest of the Meta Clan gathered around him, saying how cool that was. "I suppose we _are_ now powerful enough to commence the siege. Meta Drone, send a radio message to Captain Birdbrain to pick us up at the Fountain of Dreams and bring us to our base on Mecheye."

"Yo, message sent, dude," replied Meta Drone.

The rest of the Meta Clan gave Meta Drone a forlorn look.

"What are we going to do with him?" asked Meta Blade.

"I don't know," answered Meta Knight.

"But sir," said Meta Axe, "this is NOT the way a robot should sound!"

"I know!" shouted Meta Knight. "But we can't do anything about it!"

"I'll bet Tac _purposely_ messed him up," hissed Meta Lance.

Each of the rest of the Meta Clan expressed their agreement and then they also expressed just how much of a @%$&# Tac was.

Kirby and Chuchu had already flown away on their warpstars. Avoiding confrontation with the Meta Clan, they had agreed, was essential. They didn't want any unnecessary delays in their mission, or fatal wounds to their person for that matter. They streaked away in the direction of Neo City, glad that their troubles with Nightmare were a thing of the past.


	56. The Marks of Marx

****

Chapter 56: The Marks of Marx

King Dedede surveyed the scene. The battle for Big Forest had ended and Dark Matter had won. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms in Big Forest.

The black ball that housed Dark Matter's eye flew up to the top of the very tall tree where King Dedede was perched.

"What an excellent meal," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "The entire ecosystem of Big Forest is all mine."

Kirby and Chuchu's flight was uneventful. They landed right in the middle of Neo City on Pave Street. 

"Kirby, Chuchu," said Gooey, "you are to perform a sweep of Neo City in search of the shard."

"And by sweep, you mean what?" asked Chuchu. "If we're going to search, like, _everywhere_ in Neo City, shouldn't we, like, search all the houses too?"

"Eh... hmm..." replied Gooey, clearly in discomfort with his thoughts. "I suppose we would need to... but we can't just barge in and search everyone's houses."

"But we may have to," said Kirby. "How else are we going to know for sure whether or not the shard is actually hidden in Neo City?"

"We won't." Gooey sighed.

"Then what are we, like, supposed to do?" asked Chuchu.

"Well, you could..." Gooey stopped, then announced, "Kirby, Chuchu, my sensors are picking up a trail of anti-matter particles that seem to be headed for Heat Top, the volcano north of Neo City. I want you two to check it out."

"We're on our way," replied Kirby as he and Chuchu hopped back on their warpstars and flew off in the direction of Heat Top. 

Kirby and Chuchu got off their warpstars and entered Heat Top by way of the cave-like entrance at its base. (You thought I was going to go back to Meta Knight, didn't you?) Once inside, Gooey directed them through twisting passageways, following the trail of microscopic anti-matter particles in the air that were being detected by the phone.

Kirby and Chuchu eventually emerged into a huge... room? It was a big space in the middle of the volcano, but that wasn't the weirdest bit. What creeped out the two travelers was the fact that the entire place was coated with...

"Ice!" exclaimed Chuchu. "What happened to this place?!"

"You're in a room covered in ice?" said Gooey. "That's not possible! You should be in the center of Heat Top, dodging Magoos and trying your best to stay on the stepping stones over the flaming lava below you!"

"Flaming lava, eh?" said Kirby. "Well, I don't see any traces of that..." Kirby looked around, "...anywhere!"

"I don't understand it," continued Gooey. "This cannot be a natural disaster. It must have been done by one of King Dedede's minions, or worse, by the Meta Clan."

Silence.

"Oh, and speaking of traces," said Gooey suddenly. "There are enough of those anti-matter particles in the air for you to get me a sample of them. Kirby, stick the phone into the air and press the 'take sample' button. I think it's on the left, near the bottom."

"Got it," said Kirby, following Gooey's instructions.

"Thanks," replied Gooey. "I'll get to work analyzing it. Why don't you and Chuchu have a look around this... ice cavern. Maybe you'll find something interesting."

"I already have," called Chuchu from across the room.

Kirby rushed over.

"What is it?" he said in awe.

It was a stone sculpture, buried in a wall of ice. It was shaped much like a rounded-off obelisk, but it also had eyes and a mouth. Stone tentacles were protruding from its lower body and from the ground around it. Kirby almost summoned an ability to counter some attack. It seemed so lifelike.

Kirby took a picture of it with the phone, which then emitted a spattering, sputtering noise. It sounded as though Gooey had suddenly spit out whatever liquid he might have been drinking.

"That's Magman!" he exclaimed. "And he's dead!"

Silence. Chuchu stared wide-eyed at Magman while Kirby pondered whether to just flat-out ask who Magman was or... well... He couldn't come up with any alternative so...

"Who's Magman?" asked Kirby.

"Magman is, or was, the protector of Heat Top, the only active volcano in Dreamland," explained Gooey. "And, for the past month or so, he's been under the control of Dark Matter."

"And why would an active volcano need protection?" 

"Well, uh... I don't know. It must be some political thing. Magman was a good friend of King Dedede."

"'Political'?"

"Oh, never mind what that means, just know there's nothing that can be done about it."

"Nothing until now," interrupted Chuchu. "Who could have done this."

"It must have been the Meta Clan," said Gooey. "They're going to use this ice to compress the lava in this volcano and then threaten Dark Matter with complete destruction of Neo City, because Dark Matter has not yet taken Neo City, and if the Meta Clan break the ice in Heat Top, there will be a rapid expansion of the lava and the volcano will erupt!"

"Are you sure?" asked Kirby.

"Absolutely! I'm always sure," replied Gooey.

"That's a very well-thought-out plan you've devised there," said Chuchu. "But there's one thing I still don't understand."

"What is it?"

"What's with all the anti-matter particles in the air!"

"Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me! Just a moment."

Silence.

"My studies show," said Gooey after a few minutes, "that the particles are actually biological. That means... if I extract some DNA... got it!"

"Do you know who it was?" prompted Chuchu.

"What the..." replied Gooey. "This doesn't make sense!"

"Who was it?!" shouted Kirby and Chuchu together.

"The DNA in the particles matches that of..."

Silence. Kirby and Chuchu almost held their breaths as Gooey paused for a few dramatic seconds.

"...Marx," he finished.

"What?!" exclaimed Kirby and Chuchu.

"I know! It doesn't make sense at all! Marx is one of Dark Matter's army! Why would Dark Matter kill off one of his own?" 

"I guess you were wrong about that whole 'Meta Knight's gonna threaten Dark Matter' theory," said Chuchu. "You may always be sure, but you sometimes are wrong."

"But I can't be wrong!" retorted Gooey. "When I'm sure I'm right, I'm right. And I'm always sure, so I sure am never wrong... right?"

"Wrong."

"But that theory was flawless. If I was on Meta Knight's side, I would be due for a raise."

"But, Gooey," said Kirby, "you're already on the top. You're the big boss of big business, the only manufacturer of warpstars."

"Well..." mumbled Gooey. "That may be true, but haven't you wondered why Dreamlanders aren't all flying around on warpstars as we speak?"

Silence. This hadn't occurred to Kirby.

"Its because warptars actually aren't that reliable, for a transportation unit," explained Gooey. "They lose power quickly and there's no way to charge them back up. When they're fully out of power, they will fail mid-flight and explode. Not only that, they have a habit of spontaneously disintegrating when their riders disembark. I imagine you thought they were just disappearing, but no. The disintegrated pieces have a half-life of point zero, zero, one, four seconds. Pretty soon there's no trace of them left. 'Business' hasn't been going too well, as the warpstars aren't currently all that marketable."

Kirby's eyes had widened considerably when Gooey had told him that a powerless warpstar would "fail mid-flight and explode".

"But don't worry," finished Gooey. "You'll know when a warpstar is getting low on power. I always send you a new one way before the one you have gets even close to being dangerous to ride on."

"Oh," said Kirby. "You had me worried for a sec."

Silence.

"Okay!" shouted Gooey suddenly. "I got a new theory! Magman must have been guarding the shard! But then Dark Matter decided to have Marx handle it. It told, or possessed, Marx to come here and take the shard from Magman. Magman turned out to be a better guard than Dark Matter had thought and Marx was forced to destroy the lava beast."

"But how could someone as puny as Marx beat this thing?" said Kirby, looking at the frozen Magman.

"I'm not sure, but that's the only logical explanation I can come up with. Maybe Marx has some hidden power that he didn't show us during our encounter with him."

"I guess it's possible..."

"Oh, come on, Gooey," interrupted Chuchu. "That's got to be, like, the worst theory I've ever heard. I mean, Marx has got to be the least likely person to—"

Chuchu stopped. It seemed as though something had just occurred to her.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Who the heck is Marx?"

"We'll tell you later," said Gooey. "Right now you two should get out of there. We've got an anti-matter particle trail to follow. Once you're outside Heat Top, I'll send two warpstars that are programmed to detect and follow it."

"Okay!" said Kirby, making his way back to the tunnel they had come in by. "Let's go, Chuchu!"

"I'm coming," replied Chuchu without moving. She was gazing at Magman. "Uh, guys," she said, "you wouldn't be able to, maybe, conduct some sort of funeral ceremony for Magman, would you?"

"No time for that," said Gooey hurriedly. "Marx is probably miles away by now. You've got to catch up to him if you want that shard."

Chuchu stayed looking sadly at Magman. Kirby felt they should do something about this, but time was not something they had a whole lot of at the moment and this was a situation that would take a while to fix properly.

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey. "You and Chuchu are wasting time! Suck her away from that stone-cold statue!"

Kirby did as he was told. He drew a deep breath and Chuchu screamed as she flew toward him. Kirby quickly stopped inhaling. Chuchu landed in front of him in a heap.

Kirby couldn't believe what he had done.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"What was that for?!" yelled Chuchu, getting up and rubbing her head.

"Consider that a warning from me," said Gooey. "It is becoming increasingly important that this mission be completed quickly. We don't want a full-scale war on our hands between the Meta Army and Dark Matter's possessed forces. The star rod must be completed now, before it is too late!"

Kirby felt used. He was disgusted with himself. He had followed Gooey's instructions so far as to terrify his newest friend. He attempted to dump those emotions into his emotion hole. He just barely succeeded. 

That hole of his had been through a lot of stress lately. Kirby hoped using it again wouldn't increase the problems he had with anger management.

"Fine. Let's go," grumbled Chuchu.

Kirby and Chuchu exited Heat Top, boarded the new warpstars that were waiting for them and flew off over Neo City, letting their warpstars follow the trail of lingering anti-matter particles.

"Good-bye, Magman," said Chuchu softly as Heat Top disappeared into the distance.


	57. Two Goons and a List

**Chapter 57: Two Goons and a List**

"Yes, we're ready," said Captain Birdbrain as he landed the transport ship in the Meta Base on the metal planet Mecheye. "Our soldiers are just itching for battle. Dark Matter won't stand a chance! Wahahahaha!"

"Excellent," replied Meta Knight. "Dark Matter will fall and I will rule."

"By the way, Sir Meta Knight," continued Captain Birdbrain. "Much has changed since you were last here. We have a new recruit, a slew of new weapons, and a faster connection to the Internet."

"Really? This plan of mine is going even better than I thought. I'm going to want to try out this new high-speed connection later today."

The ship's doors opened and the Meta Clan filed out, Meta Knight and Captain Birdbrain bringing up the rear, still discussing the new improvements. The rest of the Meta Clan walked off in different directions, no doubt going to their quarters.

"Our new recruit is waiting for us in the construction chamber... Right in here... He's a good friend of mine and I got him his job with us. He's the giant snail Escargoon!"

Meta Knight stopped after entering the construction chamber and looked the guy over. Escargoon was, as the Captain had said, a giant snail. His skin had a purple tint to it and a green shell rested above his "foot". His eyestalks seemed to have been fused into one, containing two eyes. His mouth was large and complete with four teeth. Arms protruded from either side of the upright part of his body and he held out a hand to shake Meta Knight's.

"Hello," he said in a smooth, yet quaky voice. "I'm glad to be finally meeting you, Sir Meta Knight."

Meta Knight took Escargoon's hand and shook it.

"Always nice to have new recruits," replied Meta Knight. "Welcome aboard."

"Thanks." Escargoon's mouth went into a wide smirk, showing a full set of teeth. Were all but four _retractable?_ "If you want to know about me, and I'm sure you do, you should know that I once worked for King Dedede himself as one of his more personal attendants. I was once considered for a spot in the LAP, but then rejected as I can't do fieldwork and they already have a technician. I'm skilled in the areas of hardware, chemistry and psychology. You'll wonder how you ever survived without me. Yes, I'm Escargoon and I am now, and always, at your service."

Meta Knight just stood there. He was unsure as to what to say to this lengthy (and seemingly well-rehearsed) introduction.

"In order to make a good first impression," continued Escargoon, saving Meta Knight the trouble of responding, "I have been building a new weapon for use during the war. It's not done yet, but you should have a look see."

"I like what I'm hearing," said Meta Knight. "Where is this weapon?"

"Right behind me," answered Escargoon.

Meta Knight looked up at the gigantic thing in back of Escargoon. It looked rather similar to the laser cannon that Kirby had destroyed on the Halberd, except it was about fifteen times bigger. 

"I call it the Death Ray," said Escargoon. "One shot from this is over four times more powerful than lightning."

"Impressive," remarked Meta Knight.

"Thanks. I'd better finish it. It should be ready in a couple of hours."

"Excellent. But, by the way, why is it that you do not still work for King Dedede?"

"Because that old bucket of fat is nothing but the incarnation of greed! Oh, sure, he and his minions may be the main Protectors of Dreamland, but other than that he just can't keep his hands off every scrap of money he sees. I was so underpaid. I deserve more!"

"Well, this is not the place to worry about pay. You may get paid infrequently, but the quantity of gold you receive will more than make up for that. Long ago, I acquired stock in a gold-mining company that had just gotten started. They ended up scoring big, really big. I now possess enough cash to pay everyone in my entire Meta Army generously. You, however, are supplying us with gigantic weapons. I think a very large salary is in order for you, provided your mechanical skills don't expire after one gun. Do I make myself clear." 

"Yes, Sir Meta Knight. Crystal clear." Escargoon grinned.

"Were others treated with low pay as well, back at Castle Dedede?" asked Meta Knight.

"Definitely," answered Escargoon. "The lower workers were little better than slaves. They got three square meals a day but that was it! No pay! 'Course, those guys were mostly Waddle Dees, mindless things that are everyone's low-class minions."

"Except ours. Escargoon, how long did you work there?"

"Too long. I don't want to go into the details. Besides, that line of work was beneath me."

"Fair enough. But now a serious question, as you may be of additional help to me: do you repair things as well?"

"Sure, but remember, my skills are hardware, chemistry and psychology. That doesn't include software, so don't give me computers to fix 'cause I won't do it."

"Oh, that's too bad. Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"What do you need repaired, Sir Meta Knight?" asked Captain Birdbrain.

Meta Knight paused, considering whether or not to tell the Captain about Meta Drone's strange behavior.

"It's Meta Drone," he said finally.

"Really?" replied Captain Birdbrain startled. "He seemed fine on the ride here, silent... as... usual..." The Captain seemed to have realized something. "Has he lost the ability to speak?"

"...yyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesss," answered Meta Knight. "Yes he has."

"And that's exactly the type of thing you shouldn't come running to me about," interrupted Escargoon. "Besides, I'm going to be busy here for a while. After I finish the Death Ray, I have ideas for many other useful contraptions. Check back in a number of hours, Sir Meta Knight. You may see something you like... a lot."

"Thank you, Escargoon," said Meta Knight. "I shall see you later."

Escargoon went back to work, Meta Knight moved on and Captain Birdbrain stayed in the construction chamber to supervise the completion of the Death Ray. 

Meta Knight walked to the Internet Room. This room had a computer on one side (complete with gigantic screen) and what looked like a futuristic teleporter on the other.

Meta Knight typed a few keys on the keyboard below the screen. 

The words "NOW CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET" appeared on the screen. Three seconds later, they were replaced by the word "CONNECTED".

_My, my,_ thought Meta Knight. _Captain Birdbrain was right. We _do_ have a faster connection. Maybe now I can download without it taking forever._

Meta Knight typed a few more keys and a humanoid man appeared on the screen. He was wearing a blue jacket with six golden buttons (three on each side) and a pair of lurid sunglasses. Under his neck was just visible a purple tie (which was the same color as his skin) and an orange shirt. His hair was dark purple with green highlights.

"Welcome to NightMare Enterprises, Meta Knight," said the sales guy. "How can I assist you?"

"I need a good big monster for crushing anything small that may be powerful," replied Meta Knight. This type of talk was the only way to deal with such a notorious sales guy.

"Don't worry, MK my man," continued the sales guy. His voice was commercialistic, yet sounding like it could turn on you at any moment. "We have just what you're looking for. He's a gigantic blob of snow with a detachable head for throwing at enemies too far away to crush with his powerful underside. Meet Yuki, the abominable snowman!"

The sales guy turned and pointed at the monstrosity behind him. It looked much like a white pear with black eyes and mouth.

"Excellent," said Meta Knight. "Send him over."

"Sir," replied the sales guy, "this monster is so huge that it will need to be sent over in two pieces: body, then head."

"Just send it! My connection is faster now, so I think we'll be able to handle a two-part download!"

"You got it, MK."

The futuristic teleporter-thingy turned on its lights and pointed them all toward its center where the bottom half of Yuki suddenly appeared. It waddled off the transporter and stood in the middle of the room. Its head appeared moments later and jumped on top of its body. 

Meta Knight looked Yuki over. Yuki was roughly 20 times Meta Knight's height. Yup, really big.

"Now that I have the monster," said Meta Knight, "I should tell you that NightMare Enterprises, or NME, will soon be an employee-owned company."

The sales guy raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" he asked.

"Doesn't the creature called Nightmare work part-time as your boss?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have already destroyed one copy of Nightmare and I'm on a mission to destroy Dark Matter. I'm doing it for power. Long story."

"But Dark Matter will probably have already consumed another populace and produced another Nightmare."

"Yes, but Nightmare will not escape our wrath, plus once Dark Matter is dead, Nightmare will not return... and there's nothing you can do about it."

"This is... interesting news," replied the sales guy, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "'Course you still need to pay us. Cash or credit?"

"I think this monster is worth about 50 pounds of our best gold, sent in the usual way: Royal Shipping."

"You've got yourself a deal! And no, we have not yet managed to acquire that special equipment that will allow you to send gold over the Internet without it melting."

"Darn. How long do you think..."

"Not for a while, MK. I'll see you again!"

The screen faded to black.

The following is an excerpt from Curiosity File #35 in Gooey's data archives. This was written very recently and you don't really need to read it; it's just here for reference.

_Because Kirby now has six star rod shards, he can summon abilities at will. The fifth star rod shard also gave him the power to combine abilities into combo abilities. For my own convenience and curiosity, I have compiled a list of every combo ability possible. There are 78 in all and they are here in alphabetical order by combination. I have also added comments, for memory's sake._

Beam + Beam = Super Beam

Beam + Bomb = Cannon (the cannonballs have exploding shells)

Beam + Cutter = Mini Cut-Beam

Beam + Fighter = Fighter Energy (attacks fire projectiles of energy)

Beam + Fire = Flaming Beam

Beam + Hammer = Multi-Hammer

Beam + High-Jump = Flash (he disappears in a Flash)

Beam + Ice = Freezing Beam

Beam + Needle = Hookshot

Beam + Spark = Laser

Beam + Stone = Electric Wrecking-Ball

Beam + Sword = Sword Beam

Bomb + Bomb = Homing Missile

Bomb + Cutter = Ninja

Bomb + Fighter = Power Punch (sends enemies flying)

Bomb + Fire = Firework

Bomb + Hammer = Exploding Hammer

Bomb + High-Jump = Rocket

Bomb + Ice = Snowman (explodes)

Bomb + Needle = Spike Shooter (shoots spikes in every direction)

Bomb + Spark = Lightbulb

Bomb + Stone = Dynamite (very dangerous)

Bomb + Sword = Pirate (make sure he uses this; it should be entertaining)

Cutter + Cutter = Super Cutter

Cutter + Fighter = Cut-Punch

Cutter + Fire = Fire Cutter (actually cuts Fire)

Cutter + Hammer = 2-D Hammer

Cutter + High-Jump = Fan (dangerously fast on ice)

Cutter + Ice = Ice-Skater

Cutter + Needle = Snare (Venus flytrap-esque)

Cutter + Spark = Chainsaw

Cutter + Stone = Sculpture (he can become anything)

Cutter + Sword = Razor Sword (laser-cut)

Fighter + Fighter = Saiyan (look into this; I know I've heard this word before)

Fighter + Fire = Friction (the Friction is in his hands)

Fighter + Hammer = Hammer-Fist (his hand turns into a Hammer)

Fighter + High-Jump = Suplex (wrestling at its best)

Fighter + Ice = Ice Punch (ice blocks on hands shatter after punches)

Fighter + Needle = Spike-Knuckle

Fighter + Spark = Robo

Fighter + Stone = Stone-Fist

Fighter + Sword = Samurai

Fire + Fire = Comet

Fire + Hammer = Flaming Hammer

Fire + High-Jump = Jet

Fire + Ice = Melt (leaves behind a pool of acid)

Fire + Needle = Fire Arrow

Fire + Spark = Fire Starter (uses plexiglass)

Fire + Stone = Volcano

Fire + Sword = Fire Sword

Hammer + Hammer = Huge Hammer

Hammer + High-Jump = Golfing

Hammer + Ice = Pickaxe

Hammer + Needle = Spike Hammer

Hammer + Spark = Thunder

Hammer + Stone = Stone Hammer

Hammer + Sword = Hammer Sword 

High-Jump + High-Jump = Super High-Jump

High-Jump + Ice = Snow

High-Jump + Needle = Corkscrew (the attack, not the hardware)

High-Jump + Spark = Shock

High-Jump + Stone = Meteor

High-Jump + Sword = Berserk

Ice + Ice = Huge Snowball

Ice + Needle = Giant Snowflake (grows quickly)

Ice + Spark = Refrigerator (use if there is a shortage of Maximum Tomatoes)

Ice + Stone = Hockey Puck

Ice + Sword = Icicle Sword

Needle + Needle = Sharp (lots of pointy things)

Needle + Spark = Lightning Rod

Needle + Stone = Drill

Needle + Sword = Lance

Spark + Spark = Aura

Spark + Stone = Flint

Spark + Sword = Darth

Stone + Stone = Monolith (really, really, REALLY big)

Stone + Sword = Stone Sword

Sword + Sword = Two-Sword


	58. This Marx the First Time

****

Chapter 58: This Marx the First Time

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Ice Cream Island had fallen without a fight. The sky was pitch black; not even the stars were showing. An incredible darkness had flooded the land. Dark Matter now controlled all living organisms on Ice Cream Island.

A blue-black sphere was flying up to the palm tree where King Dedede stood. The sphere was covered with little grey stars.

"Nightmare?" said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "Is that you?"

"Yes, my master," replied Nightmare from the sphere. His voice came out crackly, as if he was speaking from a radio that had bad reception.

"What happened to you, Nightmare?" asked King Dedede.

"My former body was destroyed by Meta Knight," replied Nightmare. "It seems that, for some time, he has wielded the legendary sword Galaxia."

"No." 

"Yes. Thankfully, I have retained my memory in the rebirthing. Dark Matter, war is beginning. The Meta Clan will stop at nothing to overthrow your reign and so gain power. As for me, I do not yet have enough power from you to transform into my true self. We must act quickly. Taking Neo City is our only hope of survival. If we do not, the war will take place over that plot of land."

"Then we must move. Rainbow Resort is far north of here. I shall rally the troops. Don't worry, Nightmare. Your death shall be avenged."

"Thank you, Dark Matter. I hope to soon fight at your side again. But, by the way, have you found a better guard for the remaining star rod shard?"

"Yes. Marx is guarding it now, but there is a slight problem in his regard."

"And that is?"

King Dedede looked away. "It is the first time this has happened," he said. "I cannot control Marx fully, as I do the rest of my minions. I have but tainted his mind. He works for me, instead of as me. I have told Marx that it was my choice to put him in this state and not one under complete possession, but I am unable to put him under my total control if I, as I said to him, change my mind. Of course, he is still not himself and will lose all memory of his possession if he ever recovers, but I'm worried. It is not like me to show weakness and I have no idea why that lunatic would be the one to push back."

"I am as perplexed as you," commented Nightmare. "I wonder if Marx's mission is running smoothly."

"I'm sure it is. I gave Marx explicit orders. There's no way that Kirby will _ever_ catch up to him."

"I think I see him!" shouted Kirby. "There! Just ahead of us! He seems to be bigger than he was when we last saw him and using a set of bizarre wiry wings!"

Kirby and Chuchu were on warpstars, racing across the trail of lingering anti-matter particles in the air. Marx had been spotted near the horizon and they were traveling as fast as they possibly could to try to catch up to him.

"You've got him? Excellent," said Gooey from the phone. "Now go get him physically. Let's see why he's polluting our air with anti-matter particles."

"But they aren't harmful are they?" asked Chuchu, looking down at the warpstars, which were presumably following a thick trail of those particles.

"It's a figure of speech, Chuchu," said Gooey. "Marx's real problem is that he's accused of illegally guarding a star rod shard; 'tis a crime punishable by death. Kirby, you know what to do."

"Right," replied Kirby.

Marx was getting closer now. Kirby and Chuchu were going _really_ fast through the open air. The wind tore at their faces, but they couldn't stop now, now that their target was finally in sight.

Earlier on in the flight, Chuchu had been informed about Kirby's encounter with Marx and everything he and Gooey knew about the guy, which wasn't much.

Now Marx slowed, stopped, and turned. 

"Oh, no!" they heard him shriek in his new shrill voice. "You're not supposed to be here! Dark Matter told me to stay away from you! Go away!"

As Kirby and Chuchu reached Marx's location, they slowed to a stop. Marx's eyes were bulging and his mouth was a grimace that showed every one of his now-pointed teeth. 

"Marx," said Kirby, looking Marx over, "you've changed."

"Yes!" shrieked Marx, cackling. "And I am now superior! Powerful! Now go away, or bow before my awesome abilities!"

Marx's mouth was wide with laughter and his eyes wild, the slit-like pupils overly prominent.

Marx's hands detached themselves from the joints of his wings to float in mid-air like pink versions of Nightmare's claws. He reached into his mouth with his right hand and pulled out a red ribbon of cloth. He swiftly knotted it into a bow tie, which he fastened under his chin. Marx then drew his left hand back over his head and positioned his right in front of his body, pointing at Kirby with all fingers extended.

"Bring it on," said Marx, flipping over his right hand, so that the palm was facing upwards, and making a beckoning movement with his fingers.

Kirby, figuring he could do with a bit of experimentation, summoned High-Jump and Stone abilities to become Meteor Kirby! Kirby became a rock, which then actually jumped into the air and hurled itself at Marx. Marx threw his hardest punch at Kirby, but was flattened when the Meteor crashed into him. Marx and Meteor Kirby plummeted through the air and smashed into the ground. Marx quickly pushed the rock that was Kirby off of him, drew a deep breath, and let a strange metal sphere fall out of his mouth. When the sphere came in contact with the ground, it exploded and coated the entire area with ice. Kirby, still in Meteor form, was frozen under layers of ice from the bomb. 

"Heh, heh, heeeeeeeeehhh," chuckled Marx, grinning and looking at the rock under the ice that had once been a Star Warrior. Then Chuchu slammed her warpstar into the back of Marx's head, causing him to fall, once again, to the ground below.

There was a rumbling under Marx and then some sort of blast threw him back into the air. Kirby had exploded, blowing off his rock shell and all the ice around it. He was regular Kirby again...

...but not for long. Kirby summoned Fighter and Sword abilities to become Samurai Kirby! A tuft of black hair, with a cloth wrap around its base, appeared on Kirby's head and a katana (a special type of sword) appeared in a sheath at his side. As Kirby drew the sword, Marx's wings folded circularly into spirals. Holes then appeared all over the wings and, suddenly, a stream of miniature arrows began to shoot from each one. 

Kirby jumped into the air, avoiding the arrows, and then shot at Marx, sword raised for the attack. But just before Kirby got close enough to strike, Marx flew sharply downwards. Kirby made a slice and landed behind Marx with his sword pointing away to the right.

Two white pompoms fell to the ground. Kirby had sliced off those little balls from the ends of Marx's jester's hat. 

Marx turned around, teeth clenched and bared, eyes throbbing... and then suffered another blow to the back of the head when Chuchu rammed her warpstar into him again. 

"Give up the star rod shard, ya big meanie!" shouted Chuchu as Marx fell to the ground.

"Never!" shrieked Marx as a number of white blades detached themselves from his wings and made arcs towards Kirby. Kirby, however, sliced right through the middle of each blade with his katana. He then raced at Marx, sword held back and ready to be swung. 

Marx got up and began to fly away, but fell back to the ground a fourth time as Chuchu hit him, once again, with her warpstar. Marx, however, managed to push himself off the ground, away from the attacking Samurai Kirby. 

Kirby swung hard with his katana as Marx lifted off. In a flash of steel, there appeared a red cut on Marx's left cheek. At first, Marx just stared. Then he took one of his floating hands and drew it across the cut, smearing blood all over his face. Marx put his hand to his mouth... and licked off the blood... like a vampire that could no longer use its teeth.

Marx drew a deep breath. Kirby, sensing another ice bomb attack, got ready to jump. But the breath got deeper and deeper. Marx was expanding like a balloon. 

Soon he was really puffy and shuddering, trying to keep all that air in. Then, suddenly, he let loose a great scream and from his mouth issued a stream of very fast-moving... orange air.

Kirby jumped to the side just in time. The force of the orange air was so great that it ripped up all the ice it passed over and, when it reached the forest in the distance, the trees were knocked to the side like pins in the way of a well-thrown bowling ball. 

Kirby suddenly felt pain under his right foot. Some shards of ice had stuck in it while Kirby was on his side during the blast. With a pain-filled expression on his face, Kirby grasped the shards and pulled them out of his foot. He looked to the side and saw the katana, a few meters away, lying broken on the ground. He reached up and felt an absence of the tuft of hair on his head.

Kirby gingerly stood up, hoping his hurt foot wouldn't hinder his fighting. Then he summoned Spark and High-Jump abilities to become Shock Kirby! For an explanation of this combo ability's hat, think of when Kirby transforms into Fire Kirby: the special headband and flaming head. Then when Kirby transforms into Comet Kirby, Fire + Fire, the headband remains the same, but the flames transfer to his hands. It is the same with Spark and Shock: the electricity remains the same, but it is now in Kirby's hands, rather than his scalp.

In an explosion of green sparks, Kirby launched himself into the air. In another spark flash, he was flying at Marx. Marx dodged and Kirby discharged yet another burst of sparks, changing his course and shooting him towards Marx again.

Kirby landed on Marx's face and then shot away again in a fourth explosion of sparks. Marx howled in pain, clapping his hands to his face. Kirby landed on the ground and prepared to do the same thing again. Marx then removed his hands to reveal a face of crazed fury. 

Kirby shot at Marx's face again with a bang from the sparks he was expelling. Marx dodged again. Kirby changed course with more sparks again. Marx dodged _again_. Kirby kept firing more green sparks and changing direction while Marx dodged him over and over.

Chuchu slammed her warpstar into the back of Marx's head and he came crashing to the ground for the fifth time.

"That's a pretty good strategy you got there," said Shock Kirby, performing another spark explosion and flipping back onto his own warpstar.

"I'm amazed it took you this long to figure that out," replied Chuchu, racing at Marx again. 

Marx turned around and saw the warpstar hurtling at his face. In a split-second, he reached out and grabbed onto one of the warpstar's five "points". Chuchu stayed stuck to the warpstar; she was not getting off.

Kirby flew at Marx, but it was too late. Marx spun around using Chuchu as a shield. The two warpstars collided and exploded. Kirby and Chuchu landed on the ice-covered ground. Kirby had lost his Shock ability. 

Marx kept spinning and, as Kirby and Chuchu watched, he got faster. He spun like a top in the air, around and around and around. Soon he was spinning really fast. Marx now looked like just a blur of yellow, purple, blue, brown and red. Then, streaming off of Marx's body came showers of little green specks. These specks covered the entire area.

Kirby and Chuchu brushed off all the specks that had landed on their bodies. All the specks on the ground suddenly sunk into it. Kirby and Chuchu looked around, not sure what to do. 

Marx had stopped spinning. He looked quite dizzy.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake.

"Gooey," said Kirby slowly, "I think we'll be needing some new warpstars pretty soon."

"How soon?" replied Gooey.

A huge green vine sprung out of the ground in front of Kirby. It was still in the ice at the root, but it grabbed Kirby with its upper part and began to thrash around.

"Now!" yelled Kirby. "Warpstars!"

About two dozen more vines popped out of the ground.

"Now!" screamed Kirby. "Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!"

Kirby heard Chuchu scream, seemingly somewhere far off. The vines were attacking her as well, but Kirby couldn't think about that now; he had his own vines to deal with. More and more were appearing. They were piling on top of him, strangling him. Kirby couldn't see and he was finding it difficult to breathe. He could hear Marx's shrill laughter.

In a rush of sudden energy, Kirby summoned Fire and Bomb abilities to become Firework Kirby! Kirby shot into the air, shooting dazzling explosions in every direction. The vines around him caught fire and burned. Kirby then trashed his ability, landing on a new warpstar and eating the maximum tomato it carried. 

Kirby looked around. He saw another warpstar. It was hovering rider-less in the air. Kirby looked down for some sign of Chuchu. He didn't have to look far. 

At the edge of the army of vines Chuchu was pinning about ten of them to the ground with six of her tentacles and fighting off more with her remaining two. Kirby pulled the warpstar over beside her.

"Need a lift?" he asked as politely as he could.

"Thanks!" said Chuchu, hopping on the vacant warpstar and flying off above the vines. Kirby followed her.

"That was amazing what you were doing back there," commented Kirby.

"Well, it's not like I haven't fought things like this before," replied Chuchu. "It's standard training for advanced fighters."

"Ah."

"No way!" shrieked Marx suddenly. "You're supposed to be dead! Why are you not dead?! Why?! Why don't you leave me alone?"

"We were led here by the trail of anti-matter particles that you leave behind wherever you go," said Kirby.

"Oh, really?" replied Marx. "I know of no anti-matter particles. You must be mistaken."

"The DNA of the anti-matter particles exactly matches yours," shouted Gooey so that Marx could hear him, "and I have reason to believe that you are using them for jet propulsion to stay aloft."

Sure enough, Kirby could see jets of tiny, glittery particles issuing from the undersides of Marx's wings.

"Marx," continued Kirby, "enough fun and games. I think it's time I bring out 'old reliable'."

Kirby summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby. His trusty double light saber appeared in his hand again and he shot at Marx, swinging it in circles at his side. 

Marx had a blank expression on his face, mouth hanging open.

Kirby flew right up to Marx and sliced him, vertically, all the way through his body.

Kirby trashed his power and waited for the two Marx halves to split and fall to the ground, revealing the location of the final star rod shard. But that wasn't what happened. Instead, the two halves split slowly, staying aloft in the air. As they separated, the wind began to pick up.

Chuchu flew over.

"What's wrong with dead Marx?" she asked.

"I don't know," answered Kirby.

The two halves were now a few feet apart and the wind was blowing fiercely in the direction of the space between them. Then... a dark hole appeared in the air. It was sucking everything into it. 

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Kirby above the noise that the wind was making. 

"Right!" yelled Chuchu back.

They turned around and started to fly away, but the wind was too strong. It was so strong that the warpstars weren't making any headway.

"C'mon..." grunted Kirby. If he had teeth, he would have gritted them. "Just a little faster..."

Then, suddenly, both warpstars failed.

Kirby and Chuchu were sucked into the black hole between Marx's body halves. Down into blackness they fell. Down into... nothing. 


	59. Light vs Dark

****

Chapter 59: Light vs. Dark

The entire Meta Army was gathered there. 

In the great open area in the center of the Meta Base on Mecheye, Meta Knight was about to make a speech.

He walked up to the raised platform, on which the teeming multitude could see him.

Silence quickly filled the gigantic square and all eyes turned to Meta Knight.

"My warriors!" boomed Meta Knight's voice over the Meta Army. "The time has come! Dark Matter's forces are rapidly taking control of Dreamland and they will not stop before the entirety of Pop Star has fallen to their black hands. We are the chosen ones! We must fight against this darkness! Yes, I know some of you are just in it for the money or the recognition, but this war will be the single deciding event in the history of Pop Star. If we win, peace will reign with me as your king. If we lose, Dark Matter will envelop Pop Star and with its newfound energy, conquer the entire universe.

"I know that with courage, we can save ourselves from this fate. I have seen you in battle before. I know what you can do. We may not have the sun and moon fighting this time, but we can still pull through.

"There are better lives ahead of us after this victory. Years will pass and Dreamland will wonder how it ever got to be so peaceful and beautiful. Under my hand, we can make this utopian world a reality! If that isn't worth fighting for, I don't know what is!

"You know what you must do. You know of the hardships of war, but if you do not believe by now that you are superior, this battle shall prove it! Dark Matter's forces may be great, but they are untrained, and though the red eye may seem an imposing entity, it is still vulnerable to trickery. We have everything we need; now let's go fulfill our dreams and get everything we want!"

Cheers from the crowd filled the stadium.

"Yes!" continued Meta Knight. "That's it right there! You've got the spirit and now all you need to do is show it! Nothing! You hear me? _Nothing_ will stand in our way! Dark Matter will fall, I will rule, and everything we have always fought for will become a reality!"

As the crowd screamed and shouted, Meta Knight stepped down from the platform.

"Captain," he said quietly, causing Captain Birdbrain to hurry over, "ready the transport cruisers. I need the troops positioned south of Neo City by the time first light hits its tallest skyscraper."

"Yes, Sir Meta Knight," replied the Captain, "they will be ready."

"Excellent. Everything is going according to plan."

"Sir Meta Knight, if I may, what happens if Dark Matter refuses?"

"If we don't get cooperation, Neo City burns to the ground."

"Gooey," said Kirby into the cell phone, "I need a reading of my current location."

No answer.

"Gooey? You there?"

Nothing.

Kirby closed the connection and tried to look at his surroundings. Tried to, but couldn't. It was so dark where he stood that he couldn't even see his feet below him. 

Something bumped into him.

"Who's there?!" yelled Kirby in surprise, pushing wildly at the thing that had hit him.

"Stop it, Kirby!" said a familiar voice. "It's me!"

"Oh, sorry Chuchu," apologized Kirby. "I can't see at all."

"Me neither."

Silence. Kirby and Chuchu stayed back to back, not moving.

"Uh, Kirby?" asked Chuchu. "Do you maybe have some form that you could, like, change into that would give us some light?"

"Oh! Right!" exclaimed Kirby. "I'll try one out! Could you move for a second?"

"Okay."

Kirby felt the contact of Chuchu's body leave him.

"Here we go!" shouted Kirby, summoning Fire ability to become Fire Kirby!

By the flickering flame on Kirby's head, Chuchu finally became visible in the darkness.

"Finally!" said Chuchu. "I was starting to think I was blind!"

Kirby looked down. The ground was a deep blue and felt like stone. Small, flat, star-shaped stones that were the same color as the ground were spread all over.

"So, where are we?" asked Chuchu, looking around at the darkness.

"I have no idea," answered Kirby.

"I do," said a babyish voice behind Kirby.

Kirby whirled around.

It was Marx, just visible by the light of Kirby's fire. But it wasn't maniacal, mutated Marx. It was his cuter version, the one Kirby had met long ago in the woods. 

"Surprised to see me?" asked Marx in an uncharacteristically businesslike way. 

"Should I be?" replied Kirby. 

"I don't think I know you well enough to answer that question," answered Marx, "but I can answer two questions that you will find very important to be answered. Ask away."

"Where are we?" asked Chuchu, stepping forward to stand next to Kirby.

"You are inside my mind," answered Marx. "Think of this place as an alternate universe that's based on whatever reality I choose. For instance, let me shed a little light on this situation."

The whole area was suddenly flooded with light. Kirby and Chuchu could see as if the sun was shining its brightest. However, the sky was full of stars. 

Kirby and Chuchu looked every which way, but the picture was always the same. The blue ground stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see and everywhere there were those little star-shaped stones stuck into it.

"Why are you here?" asked Kirby. "Why are you down here instead of in the real world?"

"Good question," answered Marx. "The truth is that I was banished here by Dark Matter after it used the mutating machines in the dungeons of Castle Dedede to transform my body into the monster it is today. Dark Matter cannot establish complete possession over my body. This world is where I reside, preventing that from happening."

"Oh," said Kirby, though he still didn't understand.

"Hang on," said Marx suddenly, "I'm getting a message from Dark Matter. Since my body works for Dark Matter, I must either obey Dark Matter's commands or sacrifice myself to it. After that, my body and Dark Matter would become one in the mind, completing Dark Matter's possessive hold over me."

Silence. Kirby and Chuchu watched Marx as he gazed into the sky with a glazed look in his eyes.

"Yeah?" said Marx to himself. "Okay."

Marx's eyes refocused and he looked back at Kirby and Chuchu.

"Apparently I have to kill you," said Marx to the pair. "I'm sorry it must end like this. I am required to do my best to obey when Dark Matter bids anything of me. It is necessary."

Echoes of that last sentence were heard all around Kirby and Chuchu. They were coming from more Marxes. A ring of Marx copies formed itself around Kirby and Chuchu, each one repeating, "It is necessary."

More Marxes were coming. As they clustered together outside the ring, their repeated sentence changed to, "For without a mind..."

Kirby and Chuchu were looking wildly about. Though the world they were in remained at room temperature, they were both shivering.

"For without a mind... For without a mind... For without a mind... For without a mind..."

The voices changed again to the final phrase.

"...the body is but a puppet."


	60. This Means War

****

Chapter 60: This Means War

Neo City contains the greatest populace of Dreamlanders anywhere. Dark Matter must have really been frustrated. Why? Because the word that all Dreamlanders were supposed to gather at Castle Dedede had somehow never reached this place. It was here in Neo City where Dreamlanders continued to live and thrive. It was the greatest feeding ground on Pop Star, just waiting to be taken.

You may be wondering why Gooey didn't choose one of these Dreamlanders to become Pop Star's hero. If you are, ask yourself this: What would have happened to Popopo if he wasn't chosen? He would have eventually searched Dreamland for other survivors, found the ones in Neo City and then started an uproar with his story. I think Gooey made the right decision.

Back on topic: For the past month, Dark Matter had been building up strength using the rest of the life in Dreamland. And now that Dark Matter was finally ready to take Neo City, something was waiting to block it.

"Excellent work, Captain. Now get back to the ship. You have your orders. Dark Matter is coming."

In the early morning, before sunrise, the Meta Army was grouped in the fields south of Neo City. 

A strange darkness was moving toward the assembled troops. At first it was just a black line on the horizon, but now the darkness was seeping across the land like water into a towel that had been left with one corner dipped in a pool.

As the Meta Army waited, Meta Knight (who was positioned atop a large building) looked to the tallest skyscraper in Neo City. The sun was shining on its top. Meta Knight then turned back towards the black torrent that was Dark Matter's approaching forces.

As the blackness arrived at the Meta Army, it stopped. Meta Knight looked over the opposition. The Meta Army was probably outnumbered ten to one, but this did not shake his determination.

"Dark Matter," boomed Meta Knight's somehow dramatically magnified voice over the armies, "halt your forces! I must speak with you!"

The black ball that housed Dark Matter's eye rose above its forces. 

"Who do you choose to speak for you?" asked Meta Knight loudly.

"King Dedede," replied King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words from a raised platform that had been erected moments before. "State your business."

"As you know, Neo City contains the largest concentration of life on Pop Star."

"Indeed."

"Dark Matter, my request is that you and I go to war over who gets control of this piece of land."

"And why would I go through all that when I can just enter Neo City at this moment and take those Dreamlanders with little trouble?"

"Because you have recently used one of your minions to coat the inside of Heat Top with ice. At this point in time, I have a mechanical minion, a Kaboomba, placed in the center of that volcano. All I have to do is say the word and he'll detonate, blowing off the ice. If that happens, a massive decompression of magma will cause Heat Top to erupt, destroying Neo City in seconds. A fire this great is not what you want, for if it occurs, you'll be robbed of the opportunity to control the greatest source of life on this planet."

"But don't you wish to control this planet yourself? What's the use of controlling a planet if you have to kill off its inhabitants to do so?"

"Some sacrifices must be made. Move your forces out of Rainbow Resort and go to war with me, unless you want to see this city reduced to ashes in a sea of lava."

King Dedede did not reply. Down in the Meta Army, the soldiers were getting restless. Most were sitting on the ground. 

The standoff dragged on.

While we're waiting, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you readers a bit about the Meta Army. The troops were comprised mostly of soldiers like the ones that were positioned at strategic points on the Halberd. These were mainly Sir Kibbles, yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Juniors (these were not the happy blue-suited ones that Kirby had met), Biosparks, Gims, Plasma Wisps, Rockies, Laser Balls, Kaboombas, Capsule Js, Sword Knights, Blade Knights, Trident Knights, Mace Knights, Ax Knights, the deadly Crazed Donut Hole Bombers, Kabus, Mikes, Scarfies, and Wheelies. Then there were the generals: Meta Sword (leader of the Sword Knights), Meta Blade (leader of the Blade Knights), Meta Lance (leader of the Trident Knights), Meta Chain (leader of the Mace Knights), Meta Axe (leader of the Ax Knights), Meta Drone (commander of heavy-duty weaponry), Silver Kibble (leader of the Sir Kibbles), yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior (leader of the yellow-suited Poppy Brothers juniors), Dekabu (leader and producer of the Kabus), the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General (it's obvious who he's the leader of), Big Wheelie (ditto), and Yamikage (leader of the Biosparks). Not all of the soldiers had leaders so the job of those without was to just go berserk on the opposition.

"Where would you have us fight?" asked King Dedede finally.

"Northwest of Vegetable Valley," answered Meta Knight, "in a place called Fantasy Meadows."

"So be it."

The dark mass receded and moved off to the southwest. 

"Captain!" shouted Meta Knight.

A number of large transport cruisers landed in the Meta Army, which then boarded and was shipped off towards Fantasy Meadows and the battle for Dreamland.

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Fantasy Meadows was being trampled underfoot by the two armies gathered there. As he watched, the armies, once again, faced each other and waited for the signal to attack. Clouds were beginning to gather, blocking out the sun. 

The red eye of Dark Matter loomed behind King Dedede. 

__

What will happen if this battle is lost? thought Dark Matter. _My armies consist of the majority of life in Dreamland. Is this Meta Knight really willing to kill so many? At least my life is safe. There's no way he can get to me in the midst of a war to stab me with that small sword, but if I lose, I will have to leave Pop Star in search of another bounty. By then, this planet will be in a state of ruin._

"Soldiers," boomed Meta Knight's voice, "I want a quick war. Force them to surrender and be done. It is preferable that this whole ordeal end before the Ripple Star Fairies arrive. You must remember that Dark Matter has trouble possessing people who are strong in spirit. Get hurt and it may take you over. Continue to fight and we shall push it back. I shall be above with the Wrath Cannon. You know what to do! Attack!"

Both armies raced at each other, colliding in the center. The war had now officially begun. 

Above the noise in Fantasy Meadows, a weaponry ship flew. Meta Knight was standing at the front of the ship beside a large laser cannon that was about three times his height. This was the Wrath Cannon and behind it sat Meta Drone. Captain Birdbrain, once again, played the role of pilot. 

A little slot opened atop the laser cannon. Meta Knight jumped up there and drew his sword.

If you had looked up to the weaponry ship at that moment from down in the battlefield, you would have seen a lightning flash. Galaxia had come again.

"Alright, Galaxia. Do your job," said Meta Knight softly as he slid Galaxia into the slot and jumped back to the deck.

"Charge the Wrath Cannon," commanded Meta Knight.

"Okay, dude," replied Meta Drone.

The Wrath Cannon whirred to life.

At this point, Dark Matter oozed out a shield of darkness above his forces to protect them from the cannon. The eye was hidden in the shadows.

"Ready?" said Meta Knight. "Aim!"

The Wrath Cannon turned to point down towards the darkness.

"Fire!" roared Meta Knight and a bright white beam shot from the Wrath Cannon. 

The beam went right through the dark cover. There was a splattering noise as the hit "Dark Matter ooze" was blasted apart. The beam continued to the ground, causing a deafening explosion. About an acre's worth of Dark Matter's forces were caught in the shot. Bodies flew in every direction and a crater was left where the laser had hit. The crater was then quickly filled up again with battling warriors. 

The red eye surfaced above the darkness. It stared at the Wrath Cannon with a mix of pain, fear and anger. Meta Knight stared back with satisfaction. This was only the beginning.

"Charge the Wrath Cannon," he repeated.

"Why did Meta Knight put me out here? I said I don't do fieldwork. I knew I should have taught someone else to work this thing."

In the midst of the battle, a small tank rolled along. Atop this was perched the gigantic Death Ray and inside it sat a quivering and moaning Escargoon. 

A bang rocked the tank.

"O-o-oh!" groaned Escargoon. He then shouted, "Eat electric death, Dark Matter!" and pulled some levers and switches above his head.

The Death Ray opened and charged up. Remember, the gun is almost an exact replica of the Halberd's laser cannon, just bigger.

Escargoon pulled a lever slowly back, stabilizing the charging up. When popping noises began to issue from the Death Ray, he thrust the lever all the way forward to the ground.

There was a loud boom, followed by a nasty sizzling noise. The Death Ray had fired and the electricity it had emitted left a curved-out track in the ground, which was littered with dead bodies. 

Escargoon flipped more switches to let the Death Ray cool off. He then drove the tank to a more strategical place in the midst of Dark Matter's forces and prepared to fire again.

Another bang rocked the tank. Minions of Dark Matter were climbing over it. 

"Hey! Get off!" yelled Escargoon from inside the tank. 

They were all over, pounding on the tank, shooting it, blasting it with bombs.

Escargoon began to shiver in fright. "I sure hope this tank is as indestructible as I thought it was when I built it," he mumbled to himself.

Then all of the tank-attacking enemies moved to one side and started pushing. The tank began to tip.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" yelled Escargoon, pushing back at them against the wall.

One side of the tank was lifting. It may have been really heavy, but it was no match for thousands of being under the possession of Dark Matter. They think as one.

"Gotta... fire..." panted Escargoon, flipping the switches and pulling the lever slowly back. "Must... do... my... job..."

The tank was teetering on falling.

Escargoon thrust the lever back down and the Death Ray fired again, causing devastation equal to that of its first shot.

The tank fell on its side.

The blue-black, starred sphere that was Nightmare flew over to Meta Knight's weaponry ship. 

"Meta Knight!" shouted Nightmare. "Stop!"

"Why should I?" asked Meta Knight. The Wrath Cannon had already fired four times and every time had produced the same effect. The eye of Dark Matter was, once again, hidden in darkness and had not yet been hit.

"If you don't, I will destroy your ship!" answered Nightmare.

Meta Knight scoffed. Nightmare wasn't even twice Meta Knight's size.

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Meta Knight, chuckling. "You don't have enough power to shoot those star-shaped bullets of yours at us."

"Maybe not, but I can still ram into your ship!"

Nightmare did so, denting the ship.

Meta Knight continued to laugh. "Charge the Wrath Cannon," he said as best he could.

Nightmare flew back and then started bashing against the ship as many times as possible. Meta Knight stopped laughing as dents started appearing all over. Nightmare hit Captain Birdbrain's cockpit windshield and cracked it.

"Meta Drone!" ordered Meta Knight quickly. "Aim and fire at Nightmare!"

The Nightmare sphere rose above the deck.

"With your pilot blinded by a broken windshield," said Nightmare, "how do you expect to land?"

The Wrath Cannon fired and Nightmare shattered like glass.

Silence. Well, as much silence as you can get above a battle.

"Did you happen to catch the last thing he said?" asked Meta Knight.

"Yeah, dude," replied Meta Drone. "The trippy ball said that our Captain... was, like, not able to see... yeah, it was all messed up..."

"Hey, Sir Meta Knight," yelled Captain Birdbrain from below, "remember how we put that insulation stuff on the windshield to prevent it from shattering? Well, I don't think that was such a good idea! I @!$#ing can't see!"

"Uh-oh," said Meta Knight.


	61. The Mind is a Terrible Place

****

Chapter 61: The Mind is a Terrible Place

Fire Kirby summoned High-Jump ability to become Jet Kirby!

A plane-like hat appeared on Jet Kirby's head and thrusters appeared on his back. He quickly grabbed Chuchu and rocketed into the sky.

The Marxes had chosen, a split-second before that happened, to pounce. Kirby and Chuchu only just got away. The Marxes collided in the center and looked up at the pair.

"You can't run from me," said the Marxes together, backing out from under Kirby and Chuchu. "Feeling a little heavy?"

Kirby suddenly felt as though the gravity in this world had been multiplied by... well, a lot. He plunged to the ground where he flattened unintentionally and lost his Jet ability. Chuchu landed next to him and nearly flattened as well. Kirby was glad neither of them had bones. If they did, their bones would have been broken by now.

Kirby looked around as best he could at the Marx mob. Each one was opening its mouth to show bloody and sharp teeth. They were closing in, ready to eat Kirby and Chuchu alive.

Kirby, taking a wild guess as to what might help, summoned Bomb and Needle abilities to become Spike Shooter Kirby! The familiar spiky helmet appeared on Kirby's head, but instead of the rest of his body turning yellow, it turned a dark grey.

Kirby activated his power, turning into a spike ball. At this point he felt a decrease in the great gravitational pull. Marx must have been curious as to what he was doing, curious enough to let him do it at least. Kirby blew off all of his spikes, which shot in every direction like bullets. About ten of them stuck in each of the surrounding Marxes.

Kirby looked over at Chuchu, horrified that he might have hurt her, but she was standing a little ways away, holding one of Kirby's spikes in each of her tentacles. She was trembling slightly. It had clearly not been easy for her to grab every one of those.

"Please," she said, eyes wide, "don't... do... that... again."

Kirby trashed his ability and answered, "Sorry. I won't."

The Marxes that had been shot fell to the ground and disappeared. 

Kirby made another wild guess, summoning High-Jump and Beam abilities to become Flash Kirby! Kirby turned red and a lightning-shaped yellow tattoo appeared on his head.

Kirby grabbed onto Chuchu. There was a blinding flash of light and they were gone.

Kirby and Chuchu landed somewhere outside the Marx mob. They hit the ground unsteadily. Kirby fell on his face and Chuchu had to use her tentacles to rebalance.

"Whoa," said Flash Kirby standing up. "I need more practice with that ability."

"How are we going to get out of here?" moaned Chuchu.

"I don't know," replied Kirby, trashing Flash. "There's got to be _some_ way out."

Kirby looked back at the Marx mob. It had disappeared. Kirby looked around for some sign of Marx.

Chuchu screamed! Kirby looked up into the sky, following her gaze, to see a rain of Marxes coming down on them. 

Kirby and Chuchu started to run, but they couldn't get away and were eventually crushed by the storm.

Kirby summoned Bomb and High-Jump abilities to become Rocket Kirby! A red cone appeared on Kirby's head and rockets appeared on his back. 

With a nasty explosion, Kirby blasted himself into the air. 

The Marx copies were blown off in different directions.

Rocket Kirby landed back on the ground and Chuchu landed a few feet away.

The mob reformed and then suddenly stopped. Each Marx's eyes became unfocused and they looked up into the sky.

"Thank you, Dark Matter," they all said in unison. "She shall be yours."

Their eyes refocused. Then the mob started to fade away. The Marxes were vanishing. Finally, only one was left.

"It seems Dark Matter has changed its mind," announced Marx. "Chuchu, you are to be returned to the real world where Dark Matter will possess your body. Goodbye."

A black hole in the ground appeared below Chuchu and she screamed as she fell into it. Kirby raced over, but too late. The hole closed, leaving him alone with Marx.

Kirby was shaking all over, his anger rising again.

"So, Kirby," continued Marx. "Now that Chuchu's gone, let's have some fun. You see, since this is my mind, it would be the simplest thing for me to destroy you instantly. I could make myself invincible and then drop a nuclear bomb on you or I could turn the ground into molten steel and change the gravity to ten times its normal amount. Either way, you'd be dead and I'd have fulfilled my obligations. Dark Matter does not want you returned to the real world. Apparently, it's too risky with the six star rod shards you possess. But, it can get quite lonely down here and I've been wanting a friend that I don't have control over. Maybe we can make a game out of your death. I'm sure Dark Matter won't mind."

The Marx mob materialized again around the seething Kirby.

"Let's play," said the Marxes together.

Kirby, who still had his Rocket ability, zoomed at some of the Marxes. He then jumped back again, releasing the cone he had on his head. The cone flew towards the Marxes, transforming into a nitro-loaded warhead. 

Kirby used his rockets to get away before the explosion. About a sixth of the Marxes had been blown to bloody smithereens. But every time a Marx was killed, what was left of his body would vanish moments later.

After trashing his power, Kirby summoned Fighter and High-Jump abilities to become Suplex Kirby! Kirby turned a strange greyish-brown color and a blue headband appeared on his head.

Kirby landed in the middle of the Marx mob and they rushed to tackle him. Kirby flew at one Marx, grabbed the guy, whirled him around and threw him at the other Marxes.

One of the Marxes that hadn't been hit got close enough to Kirby to hurt him. Kirby screamed in pain as he suffered a nasty cut on his cheek. Kirby grabbed the Marx that had hurt him by the neck. Then Kirby gave him a nasty uppercut, blasting the Marx high into the air.

Kirby grabbed another Marx, jumped, and smashed him into the ground with enough force to create a small earthquake.

Kirby grabbed two more and banged them together. Kirby grabbed another Marx, held him up, broke his back, and then thew him into the distance.

Another Marx punched Kirby, sending him flying. They could sure hit hard.

Kirby landed a ways away, outside the Marx mob. 

"Come on Kirby," said one of the Marxes, stepping forward. "This is no fun. Here, let's have an old-fashioned fight. I'll be taking that High-Jump."

Kirby felt himself unintentionally transform from Suplex Kirby into Fighter Kirby.

"C'mon, bring it!" said the Marx, as more Marxes began to appear in the mob.

Kirby ran at the Marx and punched him so hard that he flew far into the distance.

Kirby roared/screamed and raced at the other Marxes. They wound up to punch and kick him, but Kirby, in his insane rage, plowed through them with a barrage of attacks.

Kirby was now in the center of the mob. The Marxes were fighting hard, pulling at his arms while they rained punches on his face. Kirby flipped over, kicking the two Marxes in front of him and escaping the grasp of the ones behind him. Kirby shot down at them with a comet kick. The Marxes backed away from his landing spot.

Kirby hit the ground and then spun around in the whirling kick. His feet spread on either side of him, kicking hard at the Marxes around him. 

Kirby stopped and was tackled by the mob, but the Marxes were thrown back again when Kirby performed fighter blast. Kirby chose a direction and flew at the Marxes with the progressive vulcan jab! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven consecutive Marxes hit! 

Kirby quickly about-faced, nailing the Marx behind him with a roundhouse kick. That Marx was bashed sideways into his fellows.

"More," mumbled the Marx.

Kirby jumped into the air for his next attack and saw a sea of Marxes below him. There must have been about eighty, and more were appearing.

Above the Marxes, Kirby remembered that using Stone ability would be good to crash down on them. What would Stone + Stone do? Kirby summoned two Stone abilities to try it out. Kirby became Monolith Kirby!

KABOOM! Kirby had transformed into a gigantic stone tower, which crushed the Marxes when it fell from the sky. 

The tower was as big as a skyscraper and probably larger at the base. Kirby felt immediate satisfaction as the Marxes were smashed under his huge body. He could somehow see, though, that not all the Marxes were killed and that more were quickly appearing.

As Kirby trashed his power, he heard one of the Marxes say, "Stone ability can no longer be summoned into this world. It's no fun."

In the vast expanse where he had crushed all the Marxes, Kirby randomly summoned two Spark abilities to become Aura Kirby!

Kirby's eyes closed. He turned rainbow and the colors began to swirl around his body in bizarre patterns. Then... he just sat there, doing nothing.

Kirby's mind was going crazy. He couldn't move or open his eyes! He wanted to kill the Marxes! With his rage building, Kirby continued to meditate.

The Marxes gathered in a huge circle around Kirby and one of them stepped forward.

"Hey, Kirby," said the Marx, "why won't you play? I'll have to kill you if you don't play."

The Marx moved slowly closer. When he got within about fifteen feet, a powerful bolt of lightning suddenly shot out of Kirby.

The lightning instantly struck the Marx and he exploded, blasting bloody pieces of himself in every direction.

The rest of the Marxes rushed at Kirby. As each one stepped beyond the distance where the first had been shot, they were blasted too. But eventually Kirby was firing so many shots that he couldn't keep up with the onslaught of Marxes. One of them finally got close enough and gave Kirby a slice identical to the one on his other cheek.

Kirby's Aura ability was lost and he flipped into the air, screaming in pain and anger.

Kirby summoned two more random abilities, Sword and High-Jump, to become Berserk Kirby!

A sword appeared in Kirby's hand. A tattered High-Jump cape appeared on his back. Then eyes appeared all over his head. Kirby flipped into the air swinging his sword wildly.

The blurred, screaming ball of slices plowed through the Marxes, cutting them to ribbons. 

Kirby swung the sword around and around, searing the Marx mob. 

Clang! Kirby felt his sword strike metal. He stopped and saw that the Marx in front of him had a sword as well. Kirby looked around at the other Marxes.

Weapons were appearing in their hands. Kirby was now in the middle of a mass of Marx copies that were holding spears, swords, guns, flame-throwers, knives, grenades, maces, and many other nasty items. A few even had sharp elongated fingernails.

Kirby trashed his power. Then he summoned (he was too angry to choose anything that wasn't random) Cutter and Bomb abilities to become Ninja Kirby!

Ninja Kirby grabbed onto the Marx in front of him (the one that had a sword). He performed a flip-kick, knocking the Marx's sword away, and jumped high into the sky. 

Kirby shot down with the Marx and smashed him into the ground, causing a wave of energy to blow back the Marxes around him. 

Kirby quickly unsheathed his dagger/mini-sword and used it to block a bullet from another Marx's gun. The bullet reflected back upon the shooter, taking him out of the fight.

The Marx in back of Kirby attempted to hit him with a spear, but Kirby used his dagger to reduce the spear to splinters. Another quick slice separated that Marx's head from its body.

A grenade landed at Kirby's feet. Another Marx had thrown it. As Kirby threw it back, the Marx threw another. Both throwers caught both grenades and both grenades exploded. Kirby was blasted into the air and in another explosion he disappeared.

Kirby reappeared just outside the Marx mob and flung a number of ninja-stars into it. As every ninja-star stuck in a Marx, it exploded seconds later. 

Amid the booms and bangs, Kirby raced in. He sliced one Marx in half, drove his dagger into another, flipped back over the crowd to dodge a mace attack, nailed a third Marx with a pinpoint kick, grabbed a fourth while upside down and brought the guy over his head for a smash into the ground.

The top of Kirby's foot suddenly sustained a gash from one Marx's sword. Then a Marx with knives rushed at Kirby. 

Kirby nailed that Marx with a ninja-star and disappeared again in yet another explosion.

Once again outside the Marx mob, Kirby nearly fell over in exhaustion. His wounds were hurting like crazy. For the first time since his experience with the newly insane Kracko, Kirby felt he had finally vented all his anger. 

He trashed his power and attempted to summon two more abilities. They wouldn't come.

"You can no longer summon abilities into this world, Kirby," said one of the Marxes. "Let's see how you do on your own. Here, we won't use weapons either."

All the weapons (that includes long fingernails) that the Marxes were carrying disappeared.

"But I suck on my own!" complained Kirby. "Where's the fun in that?"

Kirby froze. The impact of his words had just hit him. He could still suck.

"Dark Matter told me to give you a message, Kirby," said the Marxes. "It told me to say you will never obtain the star rod shard that my body guards. Your life shall end with me for I am the only one who can let you out of here."

As the Marx mob began to move toward him, Kirby drew a deep breath. 

The Marxes, startled, backed away as quickly as possible, but the one that had been in the lead was inhaled.

Kirby swallowed the Marx and transformed into Crash Kirby! (How? Well, let's just say we'll get back to that later.)

"What the %&$#?!" yelled the Marxes in unison.

Kirby detonated, blasting Marx's entire mind with white Crash energy. All the Marx copies were destroyed and the world began to fall apart. 

Kirby (who was, once again, without an ability) looked up into the sky where a big crack had appeared among the stars. The Marx essence in the Crash was messing everything up! The whole world was shaking. The ground began to rapidly change from color to color. Lightning flashed, emanating from out of thin air and traveling sideways until disappearing again. Flash! Flash! Flash! More lightning! The crack in the sky was getting bigger. Kirby didn't know what to do. All he could do was stand there amid the madness. The ground, though retaining its feel of stone, began to undulate in waves. Each star-shaped rock in turn emitted a loud pop and burst into flame. Then the sky began to fall. Big stone-like chunks of it fell from around the cracks and smashed to the ground, only to fly back up and repeat the process. Kirby started to run. Where to he didn't know. A bolt of that strange horizontal lightning singed his back. He was running, dodging fire, dodging falling sky, jumping over lightning, tripping, slipping, tumbling over the ground as it rose and fell. Now he was falling, falling though a world of blackness, punctured only by the insane storms of lightning all around him. He could hear explosions. The sound was deafening. Kirby shuddered, painfully groping at the air as he fell, down into darkness, down... into... the ground!

Whump. Kirby landed. He could feel grass under his face.

Slowly, shuddering, Kirby looked up.

Grass Land. That's where he was, in the great fields and hills northeast of Vegetable Valley, his home.

It was nighttime and the cool grass felt wonderfully pleasant.

Kirby rolled over and looked up at the clouds. How peaceful everything was.

His wounds ached and his head hurt, but somehow none of that mattered. With his exhaustion taking over and his emotion hole finally empty, Kirby fell asleep.

An obnoxious repeating noise pulled Kirby from his slumber.

"Hello?" said Kirby weakly, answering the ringing cell phone.

"Yes! You're back!" said the unmistakable voice of Gooey from the phone. "What a relief! So, what happened? Where's the seventh star rod shard?"

"I don't have it," mumbled Kirby.

"What?! Kirby, you gotta get it from Marx! Where is he? I'll send a warpstar right away!"

Kirby attempted to stand up, suddenly screamed in pain and fell back to the ground.

"What was that?!" shouted Gooey. For some reason his voice seemed much more hyper than usual. "Are you okay? Why couldn't I contact you for so long?"

"You'd better send three maximum tomatoes with that warpstar," Kirby managed to say. His wounds were throbbing terribly. "I'm gonna need a lot to recover."

The warpstar came and Kirby wolfed down the maximum tomatoes on it. The first healed his wounds. The second woke him up (he had been needing that). Finally, the third energized him enough to have a good conversation.

"Okay, here's what happened," he said. "I was sucked into Marx's mind."

"How?"

"A black hole appeared after I sliced him in half."

"So Marx is dead?"

"I don't know. My Crash seemed to destroy his mind."

"Huh?"

"Here, I'll tell you the whole story."

Kirby recounted everything that had gone on in Marx's mind. Gooey gave a surprised and furious response when he found out Dark Matter had taken Chuchu. 

"I guess we'll have to find Marx again later," said Gooey after Kirby finished. "Right now, I have bad news of my own. Dark Matter is currently at war with the Meta Army over who gets control of Neo City. They are fighting in Fantasy Meadows. Now admit it. I was right."

"Neo City? What does that have to do with anything? And how are you right?"

"Remember what I said in Heat Top about Meta Knight using it as a threat? You know, he blows off the ice and Neo City burns in lava. Anyway, seems he went ahead with that plan. He used Neo City, which Dark Matter sure doesn't want to lose, as an excuse to go to war. Dark Matter had no choice but to fight."

"But what about Neo City?"

"Kirby, think about it. This is Meta Knight, the master planner, that we're dealing with. If he really wanted Neo City so bad, he could just occupy it and prevent Dark Matter from taking it. 'Course that's a battle he would lose. Dark Matter would just leave, possess the rest of Rainbow Resort, come back with reinforcements, surround the city and take it anyway. But the point is that Meta Knight is fighting Dark Matter in order to destroy it. I thought you knew that by now."

"But why war?!" asked Kirby loudly, getting impatient. Gooey still hadn't really explained why all this was happening.

"War, Meta Knight figures, is the best way to draw out Dark Matter's eye... and he's right. Dark Matter will be too busy protecting and controlling its forces, not to mention possessing as many of the Meta Army as it can, and not be able to worry about protecting itself. Meta Knight has manufactured something he calls the Wrath Cannon. It's a big laser cannon that can fire energy from his sword, Galaxia. One or two hits in the eye by that thing and Dark Matter will be destroyed, but there needs to be a lot of fighting going on for Meta Knight to accomplish that. Fighting that _we_ don't want. Kirby, we must not let Meta Knight win. With Dark Matter gone. He'll use the resulting confusion after the terrible death and destruction to take over Pop Star. As if the demise of most of Dreamland's life isn't bad enough, how would you like him as your king?"

"I wouldn't," answered Kirby bluntly.

"But we can't let Dark Matter win either," continued Gooey. "If its forces overcome Meta Knight's, Dark Matter will possess the Meta Army and then move on to Neo City. With all that power, not only will Nightmare return in full strength, but Dark Matter's black power will become so vast that it will be able to envelope all of Pop Star!"

"So, they both have to lose."

"Well, no. Since Dark Matter's forces are comprised of most of the life in Dreamland, killing them would result in devastation. The death of all life here is not what we want either. The only solution is to stop the war entirely. The killing must cease!" 

"Stopping a war? That sounds hard."

"Indeed. Also... hopefully you'll be able to find Chuchu in Dark Matter's forces before she is killed as well."

Well this was just getting harder and harder. Kirby was really worried about Chuchu. He needed to act right away.

"Temporary help will arrive, though," said Gooey, wrapping up. "The Ripple Star Fairies, you know, the ones that prevent war, should be arriving shortly. I know they'll be no match for the Meta Army, but it'll buy you some time."

Kirby hopped on the warpstar.

"You can get the seventh star rod shard later!" shouted Gooey. "Right now, it's war!"

"Onward!" said Kirby as dramatically as possible, "to save Chuchu!"

"What?" replied Gooey surprised. 

"...and then Pop Star!" finished Kirby, zooming off to the west and dropping a confusing emotion into his emotion hole. He didn't want anything to interfere with his mission.


	62. A Slight Delay

****

Chapter 62: A Slight Delay

"Fall back! Regroup!" shouted Meta Sword to the other generals. "The soldiers can handle the battle for a few minutes!"

In the midst of the Meta Army the generals assembled.

"Meta Knight gave me this force field," said Meta Sword, pushing a button on his belt, "in case we needed a short time-out from fighting to develop our plans."

The generals stood in a circle and all around them the soldiers ran past, occasionally climbing over the invisible dome that surrounded them. Here's a recap of who was there: Meta Sword, Meta Blade, Meta Lance, Meta Chain, Meta Axe, Silver Kibble, yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, Dekabu, the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General, Big Wheelie, and Yamikage. Meta Drone, the remaining general, was not present, being currently airborne with Meta Knight and the Wrath Cannon.

"Are we winning?" asked the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"I'm not sure," answered Meta Sword. "There are so many of them. We don't seem to be making any headway."

"Meta Knight said he wanted a quick war," put in Meta Axe. "If we start to win, maybe Dark Matter will retreat."

"Doubtful," said Silver Kibble. "The eye is persistent. Nothing can be gained for it by retreating."

"Then we force them to surrender!" said Meta Blade.

"We'd need to actually win the war for that to happen," replied Meta Sword, "and that would defeat the whole purpose of the surrender."

"But, don't we just want to destroy Dark Matter?" asked Meta Chain.

"Yes, we draw out the eye," answered Yamikage, "and it will be destroyed by the Wrath Cannon."

"Any idea on how we can accomplish that?" asked Meta Blade.

"Maybe we blast the darkness with bombs," put in yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior.

"Sounds good to me," replied the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"An excellent idea," said Silver Kibble. "Enough confusion with bangs and light may distract the eye."

"Suppose we harness a large amount of light," said Meta Sword, "and shine it in Dark Matter's eye. What do you suppose that would do?"

"Well, since its armies require the thoughts of Dark Matter to fight," answered Meta Axe, "they would stop."

"...and then we reduce them to roadkill," rumbled Big Wheelie.

"What light source shall we use?" asked Meta Lance. "The sun is hidden behind clouds."

"Does anyone know where Escargoon is?" asked Meta Axe suddenly.

"Who?" said everyone else.

"Escargoon," continued Meta Axe. "He's the new recruit. I met him when I looked in the construction chamber back yesterday. He had built a gigantic version of the Halberd's laser cannon and was calling it the Death Ray. That thing should produce enough light to distract Dark Matter for at least a few seconds."

"But Escargoon's probably back at the base," said Meta Lance. "We still need another light source."

"No. When I met him, he was in the process of building a tank. Apparently, no one but him knew how to work the Death Ray and he needed to be with it to make it fire."

"So, he's here somewhere," said Meta Sword. "I sure hope we can find him. This Death Ray sounds like it should work."

"I send Kabus," said Dekabu. "They find Escargoon."

"Perfect," replied Meta Lance. "This dark battle is about to get a whole lot brighter."

"Whoa," said Kirby as he approached Fantasy Meadows. What else was there to say?

The clouds may have been dark, but they were bright compared with the battlefield. Dark Matter essence lay over its half of Fantasy Meadows like a blanket. Bangs and shouts raged from the war below.

Kirby had never before seen an actual war. It was so amazing, yet so terrible. And throughout his wonder, the warpstar drew ever closer to the battle.

Suddenly, the warpstar began to shudder. As it did, the air started to get very cold. Kirby felt like he was back in Ice Passage. But why was the warpstar shuddering? Those that had taken him and Chuchu into and out of Ice Passage never shuddered. 

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey. "This is no ordinary cold you're flying through! Get off the warpstar, now!"

Kirby quickly jumped off the warpstar, which exploded seconds later. But as it did, Kirby did not feel the heat of a blast of fire. Instead, he felt another wave of cold sweep over him.

"How did you know I was cold?" he asked.

"My sensors were reading the presence of an ice-based monster in your surroundings," answered Gooey.

"Oh..." said Kirby slowly. He had just seen what Gooey was talking about.

After taking a picture of the monster, Gooey replied, "This is one of NightMare Enterprises' patented monsters. Its name is Yuki, the abominable snowman. It has a detachable head for throwing at enemies and the ability to turn its surroundings into ice. You'd better kill it. Warpstar speed will be needed to reach Fantasy Meadows before the Ripple Star Fairies arrive. I'll bet Yuki was purchased by Meta Knight and placed at this exact location just so that it could prevent you from getting to the battle."

"Fire should do away with this baddie," said Kirby, summoning Fire and Needle abilities to become Fire Arrow Kirby!

Yuki threw his head at Kirby, who just barely got out of the way in time. Remember, Yuki's height (with head) is over 20 times that of Kirby. As I've said before, really big! Anyway Kirby shot the head with a Fire Arrow, melting it into a large puddle on the ground. Kirby then shot six Fire Arrows into Yuki's body, which melted as well.

"Well, that was easy," said Kirby, trashing his ability. "Meta Knight should put more care into picking his minions."

Then Kirby stopped. The puddles of Yuki were moving. They clumped together, froze solid, and Yuki reemerged from the ice.

"Uh-oh," said Kirby.

Over in Fantasy Meadows, it was beginning to rain.

"Get off, you beasts!" yelled Meta Blade, slicing a birdon in half with his sword.

"There's too many of them!" shouted Meta Sword. "We'll never get them all off this tipped-over tank at once!"

"Does anyone here have some sort of wind-oriented attack?" asked Meta Lance, who had an impaled enemy on each of his enlarged trident weapon's three spikes. 

Yells of "Nope!" and "Not me!" answered Meta Lance's question.

"Why don't we just blow up this place?" asked yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior.

"Sounds good to me," replied the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"We're here to save Escargoon, not blast him to pieces!" answered Meta Axe.

"Wait a second," said Meta Blade. "What is this tank made out of?"

Meta Axe embedded the blade of his weapon in the forehead of a dogan and gave his analysis. "Super-steel alloy. Not a metal that I'm particularly familiar with, but I know it's very strong."

"Very strong, eh?" said yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, bouncing back and forth on his two feet while juggling three bombs in the air. "Let's test that theory."

At this, the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General opened up his donut hole and said in a much more robotic voice than his usual crazed gruff one, "Glass ball filled with nitroglycerin armed. Launch in ten seconds. Nine, eight..."

Yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior dropped his bombs to the ground, screamed "RUN!!!" and bounced away at top speed. The other generals also fled in terror.

"...three, two, one..."

A large glass ball shot upward out of the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General's donut hole. The general then withdrew inside the grey helmet he always wore (deadly Crazed Donut Hole Bombers wear green helmets) and waited for the subsequent explosion.

KAPOW!

"Maybe he needs to be cut down to size," said Kirby, summoning Sword and Spark abilities to become Darth Kirby!

Slice! Slice! Slice! Kirby barely made an impression in Yuki's body of snow. A wave of cold suddenly swept over Kirby. Though most of his body was then encased in ice, Kirby used his light saber to free himself.

"Want a clean cut, Kirby?" said Gooey. "Use Sword and Beam abilities. It's bigger, better, and hits long-range."

Kirby summoned Sword and Beam abilities to become Sword Beam Kirby! The hat characteristic of Sword Kirby appeared yellow on Sword Beam Kirby's head and his sword glowed white.

Kirby stood back from Yuki and, before the abominable snowman could attack, jumped into the air to make a long vertical slice with his sword. 

The slice shone in the air and flew, like a slow beam of light, towards Yuki. The Sword Beam cut Yuki in half and the snow that made up the monster's body splattered to each side.

"Yes!" said Kirby, trashing his ability.

But then the snow reformed into Yuki again. He was still unhurt.

"Darn..." moaned Kirby. "Back to square one."

"Congratulations, CDHG," said Meta Sword testily, activating the force field again. "You have just created a crater using the nitroglycerin capsule that I believe Meta Knight forbade you to use unless there was an emergency." The rain dripping into Meta Sword's helmet was putting him in a bad mood.

"Are we winning?" asked the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"No," answered Meta Sword. "Not now that you've destroyed the Death Ray!"

"I guess we need another light source, then," said Meta Lance.

"I disagree," replied Silver Kibble. "This light-blasting plan of ours has been thwarted."

"Well, we should check inside the tank," said Meta Axe. "Thankfully, that was not destroyed. I hope Escargoon is alright."

"But, how do we get in?" asked Meta Sword. "The tank is sealed off and, as we have discovered the hard way, indestructible."

"Silence, please," said Yamikage. "I shall attempt to teleport inside."

The rest of the generals kept quiet as Yamikage stood on one foot with his hands together, forefingers and middle fingers extended, and closed his eyes. Then, slowly, he faded away.

Seconds later, Yamikage emerged from the hatch in the top of the tank (which, now that the tank was on its side, opened parallel to the ground) and laid Escargoon on the ground. 

Yellow blood was leaking out of the left side of Escargoon's eyestalks and out of numerous places on his left arm. There was also a small crack in the left side of Escargoon's shell. He was unconscious and had clearly fallen hard on his side at some point during the battle. One guess as to which side that was.

"This guy's had some severe trauma," said Yamikage, stating the obvious. "The inside of the tank is splattered with blood."

"We need to get him back to the base!" said Meta Lance.

A seat suddenly appeared atop Big Wheelie. "I'll take him," he said.

Meta Sword put Escargoon on the seat and turned off the force field.

"Let's hit the road!" said Big Wheelie, zooming off through the battle, hopefully to safety.

Kirby summoned High-Jump and Stone abilities to become Meteor Kirby! Once again transformed into a falling rock, he smashed down on Yuki, leaving a hole in the monster's belly. Since that didn't seem to actually hurt Yuki, Kirby summoned High-Jump ability to become High-Jump Kirby.

Kirby flew into the sky, dodging Yuki's head as it came shooting at him again. When he was high enough, Kirby summoned two Stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby!

KABOOM. Kirby flattened Yuki under his massive stone body, but after he transformed back into regular Kirby, Yuki recollected and appeared once more.

Needless to say, Kirby was getting very frustrated.

"Fire!" roared Meta Knight and the Wrath Cannon sent another deadly ray of destruction down into the battle. This was its sixteenth discharge.

After a discussion of the broken windshield, Captain Birdbrain agreed to remain stationary in the air until some way to get down for repairs presented itself. However, the problem was, as Meta Drone had calculated but not said, the chance of presentation of such a way in their current situation was 10,783 to 1.

Meta Knight looked down at the damage and then up into the sky. His eyes spied a number of bright stars that had not been there minutes before.

"Here they come," he muttered.

Shooting down from the sky came streak after streak of white light. As each one arrived just above the battle it would turn into a childlike humanoid figure with translucent wings. Each of these figures wore differently colored jackets and hair ribbons. They were all lined up, facing the Meta Army. Then the brightest light shot into the center and revealed a figure twice the size of the others, which wore a golden crown, round crystalline glasses, black hair with two ponytails, and a long elegantly colored robe. The figures numbered exactly 201 (one hundred on either side of the crowned one). The Ripple Star Fairies had arrived. 

Lightning flashed in the sky, followed three seconds later by a rumble of thunder. The storm was getting fiercer. Rain and wind swirled around the battle.

The Queen of the Fairies (the one with the crown) turned to the Fairies on either side of her. "Ribbon," she said, addressing the Fairy to her right. Ribbon had a falling sheet of red-orange hair and wore a red ribbon in it. Her jacket was red with yellow buttons. "Blitz formation. Distract the eye of Dark Matter." 

The Queen then turned to her left. "Jewel," she said. Jewel had dark brown hair, which was held in a bun on either side and topped with a green ribbon. Her jacket was yellow with red buttons. "Crescent formation. Take out the Meta Army's weapons."

Lastly, the Queen looked forward and gave her finishing lines, "I will activate the arial blockade of magic. Engage!"

After many more minutes of frustrated battling, Kirby had gone through the following additional abilities (in this order): Fire Sword, Jet, Rocket, Aura, Drill, Giant Snowball (this was Gooey's idea), Ninja, Comet, Snare, Electric Wrecking-Ball, Spike Shooter and Berserk. Yuki had also twice hit Kirby with his head and because warpstars could not travel around Yuki, Kirby was deprived of maximum tomatoes.

Finally, tired and sore all over, Kirby suddenly got an idea.

__

What if I inhale Yuki's head and swallow? he thought. _Without a head, he'll die!_

As Yuki once again threw his head at Kirby, Kirby inhaled it. He then swallowed to become Ice Kirby!

Ice Kirby watched Yuki, waiting for the snowman's body to keel over or melt to signify death, but that never happened. A new head grew out of Yuki's body. Kirby's plan had failed. Yuki was apparently indestructible.

"That's it!" said Gooey excitedly. "Ice ability! Of course!"

"What?" said Kirby, confused.

"Since you can't kill Yuki, encase him in a block of ice! Then you can get away and hop on a warpstar without him being able to stop you!"

"Okay!"

Kirby ran at Yuki, who threw his new head. Kirby kept running and the head hit the ground in back of him. As always, the head then disappeared and reappeared back on top of Yuki's body. Right after that happened, Kirby jumped over Yuki in a freezing swirl attack, encrusting the monster in a vertical ring of ice.

A terrible wave of cold swept over Kirby. He had gotten too close to Yuki without a continuous attack. Yuki was emitting freezing air into its surroundings. 

Kirby began to feel a layer of ice forming on his body. The cold was freezing him into an ice cube! In his freezing state, Kirby heard the smash of ice. Yuki had broken the ice ring.

Kirby quickly summoned Fire ability to remove the ice, but instead combined it with his Ice ability to become Melt Kirby!

Kirby transformed into a purple ice cube and then lit himself on fire, melting into a steaming pool on the ground.

Silence.

Yuki waddled over to the pool and looked down at his slightly purple reflection in it. Suddenly, Yuki emitted a choking noise... a gasp... wheezes, coughs. The great monster straightened up, expelling from his mouth a cloud of the noxious steam he had inhaled, and then... slowly... Yuki fell... twitching... to the ground.

The pool reformed into regular Kirby.

"Well, that worked," he said.

"Engage the force field!" shouted Meta Knight. "Now!"

"Dun worreh, dude," replied Meta Drone. "'Sup already."

Meta Knight relaxed. If the force field hadn't been activated, the Wrath Cannon would be a sitting duck for the Ripple Star Fairies. 

Meta Knight watched as a crescent-shaped cluster of lights flowed though his army. He had hoped that the extra weapons at the Meta Base would not need to be used.

Down in the battle, the Meta Army was trying its best to hold onto its weapons, but to no avail. The Fairies were too fast. A soldier's weapon would be gone before he even knew what was happening. The Fairies were swooping down on the battlers and taking their weapons, which disintegrated in the Fairies' hands.

"Darkness... recede!" shouted the Queen of the Fairies, holding her arms lengthwise. Following these words, a glittering barrier began to form around her. This two-dimensional sparkling wall spread outward from the Queen. When it touched the ground, all those under the control of Dark Matter appeared on one side and all those in the Meta Army appeared on the other.

And now that Dark Matter had been successfully paralyzed by the shining Fairies in its eye, the battle came to a standstill.

"Charge the Wrath Cannon," said Meta Knight for the twenty-third time.

"Uh, but dude," replied Meta Drone, "don'cha think that's, like, bad... 'cause it'll, like, destroy the force field an' all?"

"Just do it! This is our only hope!"

"Okay, dude."

"Once you have it charged, aim about ten feet below the Queen and fire."

Uh... To make a long story short, Kirby got on a warpstar and took off for Fantasy Meadows. 

Okay. Back to the war.

"Stop this senseless fighting!" boomed the Queen's voice over Fantasy Meadows. "You are killing off Dreamland! War must stop or all will be lost!"

The Wrath Cannon fired, blasting the invisible force field around Meta Knight's weaponry ship to pieces. The light streaked toward the magical barrier.

What followed was a nasty smashing noise, like the breaking of glass only a thousand times louder. The shot had blown a hole in the barrier. (Of course it then continued to the other side, causing another explosion and killing more of Dark Matter's forces.)

For a split-second, all the Ripple Star Fairies stopped what they were doing to stare in disbelief at the hole in the barrier. 

With its sight finally restored, Dark Matter whirled its black essence around at a very high speed, throwing off the Fairies. Dark Matter then reached out with one of its tentacles and snatched the mortified Queen of the Fairies out of the air.

The barrier vanished, the Queen was engulfed in darkness, and cries of "Retreat!" issued from the terrified Ripple Star Fairies. 

Each one of the Fairies subsequently shot into the night sky. A minute later, they were but bright dots among the stars. A minute after that and they were gone.

Exactly two minutes and eleven seconds after that... was when Kirby arrived at the scene.


	63. A Mess of Power — Part 1

**Chapter 63: A Mess of Power - Part 1**

"I'm glad that's over," said Captain Birdbrain, "but we're still stuck in the air!"

"Quiet, Captain," replied Meta Knight. "I know we'll land this craft somehow. For now, just keep hovering." He then turned to Meta Drone. "Send a message to the secondary arsenal ships. They're needed."

"Message sent, dude," answered Meta Drone.

"Good. Let us hope they arrive quickly."

Meta Knight looked down at the battle. Without weapons, the Meta Army was beginning to lose. Unable to defend themselves, some were (to put it lightly) having doubts about fighting. Those that decided to retreat were quickly taken by Dark Matter and turned against their fellow warriors. Many more became casualties of hand-to-hand combat against some of Dark Matter's still armed forces (like dogans with clubs or q-berts with fire breath).

"Uh, dude," said Meta Drone suddenly, "there's a... a... thingy... and it's all... moving towards us... yeah, it's, like, gnarly..."

"EXPLAIN THINGY!" roared Meta Knight.

"There is an anomaly approaching the ship," replied Meta Drone in the robotic voice he had once always spoken in.

Meta Knight stared. He had somehow startled Meta Drone into using old programming.

"Aw, man," said Meta Drone. "I dunno where that came from. I was, like, talking... but it was all, weird... and... and, like-"

"Shut up!" interrupted Meta Knight, disappointed that the reversion had not been permanent. He then looked around, seeing if he could spot the "anomaly".

He didn't have to look far.

Flying toward the weaponry ship was a strange, grey platform. But the platform didn't seem stable. It was constantly throbbing, creating ripples all over its surface. Standing on top of it was a line of black and white... things. They looked a bit like Dreamlanders, but were white on top, black underneath and had white feet. Their heads/bodies were elongated and featured shell-like swirls at their backs. There were eight in all and each one carried a different weapon. Here's the list of weapons: spear, club, electricity-firing wand, boomerang, sword, umbrella, flame-thrower, ice-shooter.

"We are the Bukisets," said the things in unison, talking in low, gruff, but surprisingly resonant voices, "wanderers of space. Fighting is our fuel. War is what we seek. Our search has led us here. We wish to fight in your army."

Meta Knight was ecstatic, but he hid his emotions from the Bukisets. "My, my, my," he said smugly. "The legendary Bukisets wish to fight in the Meta Army? This _is_ a pleasant surprise."

The Bukisets did not reply.

"Down to the battlefield! Fight Dark Matter's minions!"

The Bukisets nodded in unison and flew down into the fray.

"Sir Meta Knight!" squawked Captain Birdbrain. "Wait! Don't let them go!"

"I already have," replied Meta Knight, "and it's a good thing too."

Captain Birdbrain swore loudly.

"What's the matter, Captain?" asked Meta Knight.

"You don't get it, do you?!" shrieked Captain Birdbrain. "You were so absorbed in thinking about the Bukisets joining that you didn't remember that we're stuck up here! You _could_ have asked if we could hitch a ride on that thing they travel on. They could have @&$#ing brought us down!!!"

"Oh."

"No!" shouted Gooey. "No, no, no, no, no! We just missed them!"

"You mean the Ripple Star Fairies?" asked Kirby tentatively.

"Of course the Ripple Star Fairies! They would have been extremely valuable allies if you just arrived a little sooner!"

"I'm sorry..."

Gooey sighed.

"Oh, well," he said, "it's not totally your fault."

Kirby gave the phone a quizzical look, even though he knew Gooey couldn't see him. It wasn't Kirby's fault at all!

"Well," said Kirby, "what do I do now?"

"I suppose we'll have to figure out a way for you to stop the war," replied Gooey. "Since I wasn't counting on you missing the Ripple Star Fairies, I haven't procured any plans yet. Wait just a moment. Maybe I can think of something."

Silence.

Another bolt of lightning appeared for a split-second in the distance. Kirby heard the thunder seven seconds later. He wiped his eyes to dry them of the rainwater running down his face and continued to wait for Gooey to say something.

"Here's an idea," said Gooey finally. "This is the best I can come up with in such short notice. Try getting into the center of the battle and transforming into Monolith Kirby. Maybe that'll stun 'em long enough to... uh..." Gooey faltered. "Oh, just try it! It'll at least buy me time to think of something else! My mind isn't cooperating like normal. I gotta clear it and get thinking!"

Kirby had already hopped on his warpstar and flown off toward the battle. 

The reserve weapons had arrived. Now that the Meta Army was once again equipped, they were fighting even harder. 

The balance of the battle was forming again. The Meta Army was definitely accumulating more kills than casualties, but Dark Matter's forces seemed endless.

"Charge the Wrath Cannon," ordered Meta Knight for the twenty-sixth time.

"I can't, dude," replied Meta Drone.

"What?!"

"The cannon... is, like, fried... we've been usin' it so much... yeah, it's a major bummer, dude."

Meta Knight growled under his breath.

"Is there anything you can do?" he asked.

"Uh... nah..." replied Meta Drone. "It'll have ta, like, cool down."

Meta Knight sighed and looked down into the battle. He could see the Bukisets doing their thing down there. Powerful fighters they were indeed. A wake of destruction lay in their path. 

Meta Knight remembered the stories. The Bukisets were created long ago as incarnations of war and they live to make the universe as bloody as possible. The myths said that their weapons contained amazing amounts of power and nothing could stand in their way. No one had even proved that they were alive. They would fly down on a battle, pick the side with less numbers (so that they could kill more of the opposition) and ensure its victory through massacre of the other side. 

Something in these images sparked Meta Knight's memory. Then it suddenly occurred to him.

"Captain," he said, "can you fly?"

"Of course I can!" squawked Captain Birdbrain. "I'm a pelican!"

Silence.

"Oh..." said Captain Birdbrain in understanding.

"Well," said Meta Knight, "since I believe Meta Drone's anti-gravity thrusters are still operational, why don't we all just fly to the ground?"

"Uh, dude?" said Meta Drone. "You sure that's, like, a good idea? I mean, if y-"

"Shut up!" interrupted Meta Knight again. "Let's go!"

Meta Knight carefully rolled up his cape and fastened it to his upper back, not wanting to destroy it like he had the last one on unfolding his wings.

Meta Knight spread his wings and jumped from the weaponry ship only to slam into an invisible wall and slide down a curved surface to lie just below. There was apparently an orb-like force field encasing the ship.

"Sir Meta Knight?" said Captain Birdbrain, emerging from a hatch in the top of the ship. "What just happened? Are you all right?"

Meta Knight got up, folded his wings, unrolled his cape and walked around in a circle on the invisible floor.

"Meta Drone," said Meta Knight, "I thought you said that the Wrath Cannon destroyed the force field."

"Meta Drone, shush," said Captain Birdbrain before the robot could speak. "I think I can explain this one.

"Meta Knight, the force field _was_ destroyed by the Cannon, but then the energy from your blade left a power-oriented residue of the field behind. We've been continuously firing through the new field and I think that has strengthened it. The only way to get out is to have the field destroyed from the outside."

"I am amazed, Captain," said Meta Knight. "That was the longest bit of coherent speech I have ever heard you say."

"Well," replied Captain Birdbrain, "I really hate Meta Drone's new voice."

Kirby landed and, before anyone could attack him, summoned two Stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby!

Instead of a kaboom, what followed were the shouts of angry fighters as they were pushed away from the spot where Kirby had transformed. Monolith Kirby was now in everyone's way.

But that did nothing to stop the war. The soldiers simply fought around Kirby, who trashed his power and flew off on the warpstar that he had sunk into the mud with his once-massive body.

"Well, that didn't work," said Kirby. "What do I do n-"

"I've got it!" interrupted Gooey. "Now I get why I can't focus! Stopping the war isn't our first priority! We need Chuchu!"

"Oh!" said Kirby, surprised. "Uh... Why?"

"Don't you get it, Kirby? We need the **star rod** and only with Chuchu's help can we get it! You were right about saving her first all along! I should have listened."

Kirby considered telling Gooey that that wasn't exactly why he had wanted to save Chuchu first, but then decided not to. Might as well let Gooey have his opinions.

"Kirby," continued Gooey, "your new assignment is to search for Chuchu in Dark Matter's forces."

"That's gonna be really hard," replied Kirby. "There are millions of Dark Matter minions and they all want me dead. How am I going to find the one that's important among the swarm of others? I'd have to fight through every single one."

"Nonsense, Kirby. Just look at the mass from the sky! The pink shouldn't be too hard to find."

"But the rain is obscuring my vision! I'll have no chance of seeing her from up here!"

"Then use an umbrella!"

"But there aren't any around here!"

"Then I'll send you one!"

The phone then emitted some rummaging noises.

"Darn it!" said Gooey. "I guess I don't have an umbrella. After all, I very rarely go outside."

Kirby groaned and looked down at the battle.

What he saw was the most amazing coincidence he had ever experienced. Right below him was a strange creature that was using an umbrella to bash Dark Matter's forces. 

The creature swung at one enemy, causing it to bounce away in a broken state. The creature then inverted the umbrella at another clump of enemies, blowing a powerful air current at them which made them tumble over and bash each other accidentally with their own weapons.

Kirby inhaled. The creature (which you should know by now to be one of the Bukisets) hung onto the umbrella and was pulled up toward Kirby as well.

Kirby decreased the speed at which he was inhaling, causing the Bukiset to hang in mid-air.

_I need to separate that thing from the umbrella,_ he thought. _Maybe if I cut him off..._

While still inhaling, Kirby summoned Cutter ability to become Cutter Kirby!

Kirby threw a Cutter boomerang, removing the hand of that Bukiset from its body. He inhaled just a little more and caught the umbrella in his right hand.

The Bukiset's hand shuddered and fell to the ground. Then the hand and the Bukiset each emitted a POW-like noise and turned into smoke. 

Kirby held the umbrella over his head, wiped his eyes again and flew high enough to scout the terrain some more. 

"Kirby!" said Gooey suddenly. "There is an amazing amount of power located right above you! What is it?!"

"Power?" asked Kirby, confused. "All that's right above me is the umbrella I stole from a fighter just now."

"Aaaah!" yelled Gooey. "The power reading is so high!!! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!!!"

"Eat it?" said Kirby. He was getting rather scared. Gooey seemed to have gone insane.

"Eat the umbrella!"

"But, this thing is the only way I can see the ground below. I need it to keep the rain out of my f-"

"EAT IT!!!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Kirby ate it, held up his hand... and an umbrella-like object appeared in it. The handle was green and the canopy alternated red and white stripes that pointed toward the center where a yellow star was perched. Kirby had transformed into... Parasol Kirby!

Kirby held the Parasol down in front of his face and stared at it wide-eyed.

"Kirby," said Gooey calmly, "it seems that I have another series of combo-abilities to add to my list. I believe the number is no longer 78 but 91. Also, you can now summon Parasol at any time. I shall keep you informed. Get looking for Chuchu."


	64. A Mess of Power — Part 2

**Chapter 64: A Mess of Power - Part 2**

The remaining Bukisets did not notice that one of them had been killed. It had happened before and was always ignored. Those nearly mindless fighting machines didn't care about each other and never hesitated to follow their instincts. Their instincts, however, never told them to do anything but search or battle.

The torrent of wind had thankfully stopped, but the rain was coming down harder than ever. It pounded on Kirby's Parasol as he flew over the battle, searching for a sign of pink below. He just _had_ to find her.

Every so often, lightning would flash. Kirby would always count the seconds between the lightning and thunder. He noticed that that period of time was decreasing in length with every flash.

Then Kirby heard something. The noise was coming out of the phone and he was amazed by it. Surely the Halberd couldn't be back...

"Meta Knight, Sir?"

Meta Knight: "Go back to Mecheye, Sasuke. Bringing the weapons was your only duty in this war."

Sasuke: "But Sir, the message that we got which summoned us here was too strange to not question."

Meta Knight: "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke: "When Meta Drone sent us the message to come, his voice sounded... different to say the least."

Captain: "Finally! Go, Sir Meta Knight! Tell them all about Meta Drone's problem! Word must get out! If we keep this a secret, we'll never get him fixed!!!"

Sasuke: "Secret? Well, it's no secret now. Everyone at the base heard that message. It made some laugh and others vomit. I didn't particularly like it myself."

Meta Knight: "I hate it and Meta Drone doesn't seem to care that I do. He's listening to this conversation right now."

_He's not the only one who's listening,_ thought Kirby. _I wonder how much Meta Drone's voice has really changed. Come to think of it, I wonder _why_ Meta Drone's voice has changed._

Sasuke: "So, any idea as to the reason this dramatic change occurred?"

Captain: "Yeah, Sir Meta Knight. I've been wondering about it myself."

Meta Knight: "Those at fault are Kirby and Tac. Kirby for causing Meta Drone to short-circuit and essentially die..."

_I never did that!_ thought Kirby. _Meta Knight's got the wrong guy!_

Meta Knight: "...and Tac for 'repairing' him with bad programming."

Captain: "Tac?! Don't tell me you trusted that piece of filth!"

Meta Knight: "It was necessary. There was no one else to go to."

Captain: [censored]

Sasuke: "Come on, Cap. Stop swearing. I've told you a hundred times."

Captain: "Oh, yeah? Well, that's a hundred times too many! People who don't swear are in denial of all the bad stuff that happens to them! And by 'bad stuff', I mean-"

Sasuke: "No, Cap. Don't say it."

Captain: [censored]

Sasuke: "This is disgraceful."

Captain: "Wahahahahahahahaha!!!"

Meta Knight: "Shut up a minute, you two! Focus! There are more pressing issues than this pointless bickering. Now, we can currently do nothing about Meta Drone, especially since I'm stuck on a weaponry ship with him and the Captain."

Sasuke: "Stuck? How? And is there any way I can be of assistance?"

Meta Knight: "As a matter of fact... you _can_ help us! We are trapped inside a force field that can only be destroyed from the outside."

Sasuke: "Say no more. I'm on my way!"

Captain: "Finally! What a miracle! I thought I was going to be stuck on this thing forever."

Meta Knight: "Yes. I imagine the improbability of a safe trip to the ground was quite high."

"Yeah, dudes. It was, like, _really_ unlikely... and dou-"

Captain: "Shut up, Meta Drone! You give me a headache!"

_That's Meta Drone?!!_ thought Kirby, his eyes widening. _Man, that's nothing like how he sounded before. I understand why they hate it._

Meta Knight: "Yes, Meta Drone. Please refrain from speaking until spoken to."

"So, how do you like it?" asked Gooey when it was over. "My new bug is working like a charm. Let's hope Sasuke fails to release Meta Knight from his airborne force field. Them staying trapped would probably make your mission easier, not to mention be extremely funny." Gooey chuckled.

"It was nice to hear from them again." Kirby smiled, but the terrible weather and severity of his situation prevented him from giggling. "But... I don't get why they think _I_ was the one who made Meta Drone short-circuit. I don't remember doing any such thing."

"I don't understand either, but it doesn't matter really. You should be congratulating yourself if you indeed have messed him up. It's not an easy task to kill one of the Meta Clan and you sure have given them quite a..." Gooey paused, looking for the right word. "...headache."

"Yeah, really."

Kirby went back to searching.

The dark warriors were everywhere. Amid the rain, Dark Matter essence, and explosions, Kirby was having a difficult time searching. 

His Parasol was admittedly a help, but it could only do so much. By now, Kirby was soaking wet and unhappy.

Then he saw her. Or what looked like her.

There was a pink warrior on Dark Matter's side that was holding three of the Meta Army in the air while raining punches on the soldiers in front.

Yup. That was her alright.

"I see Chuchu!" shouted Kirby into the phone.

"Excellent!" cheered Gooey back. 

Kirby flew down and positioned himself directly above Chuchu.

"Uh," he said. "What do I do now?"

"Well," answered Gooey, "you gotta capture her somehow and then bring her back into her senses out of Dark Matter's power. You might want to leave the battle to do that."

"Is there any summonable net-like ability that I could use here?"

"Let me look. Just a sec."

Kirby watched Chuchu rapidly defeat seventeen more enemies in the twenty-three seconds before Gooey came back on the phone.

"This is amazing," said Gooey. "The combination for Trapper ability is Parasol plus Ice. You really have hit a stroke of luck with that new toy of yours."

"Okay!" replied Kirby.

"But be careful," Gooey warned. "I don't yet know what effect this ability produces."

Kirby summoned Ice ability, combining it with Parasol to become Trapper Kirby! The red stripes on the umbrella turned blue and the star was replaced with a metal plate that lay horizontal when Kirby held the new Parasol over his head.

Kirby activated his ability. Aiming the Parasol at Chuchu, he fired. The canopy of the Parasol shot downward at the pink octopus as the stem to it extended. 

The instant the metal plate made contact with Chuchu, the canopy inverted and encased her. The stem then retracted.

Kirby, using the strengthening side-effect of this power, held Chuchu in the Parasol above his head and sped off away from the battle.

King Dedede surveyed the scene. The battle was dragging on. 

He looked down into the field. 

"No!" he shouted suddenly. "Kirby must not be allowed to escape with Chuchu!"

As Dark Matter shared a bond with all under his possession, it knew that Chuchu had been captured and that Kirby had been the one to do it.

Instantly, the thoughts of all Dark Matter's forces changed. Their only mission was now to kill Kirby.

Kirby looked back as his warpstar sped away and saw a tidal wave of dark warriors coming at him. They were all piled on top of each other, clamoring to get at him and traveling at an amazing speed. His eyes widened as he attempted to speed up and get away before the dark wave could overtake him. 

Dark Matter reached out one of its giant tentacles to stop Kirby from escaping. Kirby dodged by quickly veering off to the left as the tentacle made a swipe at him.

Kirby flattened himself against the warpstar and held Chuchu in the Parasol in front of him, hoping to increase his aerodynamics and so fly faster. He sped though the air like a bullet, but the wave of piled-up enemies was closing in, ready to break over him.

Faster, faster, faster! His speed was making the rain sting on his face.

Dark Matter stretched out another tentacle and Kirby jumped off the warpstar to dodge the attack. Kirby flipped over the tentacle and the warpstar glided under it. 

Kirby landed back on the warpstar and looked behind to see the wave crash back down into Fantasy Meadows. Dark Matter had failed to catch him.

Kirby flew on until his breathing slowed and returned to normal. He looked up at the Parasol. It was undamaged. He wondered why Chuchu wasn't struggling against it. She couldn't be... dead.

_Naah,_ thought Kirby._ Something this mediocre could never kill her. It's probably the Ice component of this ability that's keeping her still. I sure hope it's nothing serious._

Flying over a barren plateau in Yogurt Yard, Kirby decided that now was the time to land and open up the Parasol.


	65. A Mess of Power — Part 3

**Chapter 65: A Mess of Power - Part 3**

"Something has distracted Dark Matter's forces!" shouted Meta Sword, impaling two enemies at once on his sword. "Now is the time to strike!"

"Yeah, let's go!" replied Meta Blade, spinning around to slice all the enemies around him. 

Meta Axe ran through Dark Matter's forces, hacking wildly with his ax. He plowed right through them. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.

Meta Chain swung his mace, throwing about ten enemies into the air at once. Meta Lance impaled an enemy on his trident and then used it as a club in much the same fashion as Meta Chain's mace.

"Bomb fountain engaged," said the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General in his robotic alternate voice, shooting a shower of bombs in every direction. The noise of explosions was deafening.

The yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior joined in the fun with his own cascade of bombs. 

Dekabu opened his mouth wide and about thirty Kabus spewed out of it. As the Kabus tackled some of the opposition, Dekabu jumped with his mouth still open and landed on another group of enemies, swallowing them whole.

Yamikage, fast as a bullet, performed a multitude of combos on the enemies with his dagger and ninja-stars.

Silver Kibble threw his cutter as a boomerang, slicing through an arc of enemies. He then caught the blade, made a series of quick slashes with it, and the enemies in front of him fell to the ground in pieces.

Even Big Wheelie arrived at the scene, having successfully carried Escargoon to safety. He simply drove right over the opposition, flattening them into the mud.

After a brief minute of confusion, Dark Matter's forces returned to fighting the Meta Army instead of chasing Kirby.

"Meta Blade, want to see a cool new attack that Meta Knight taught me?" asked Meta Sword in the midst of fighting. He was shouting to Meta Blade from quite a ways away, but the other warrior still heard him.

"Sure," answered Meta Blade, shouting back.

Meta Sword faced the dogan in front of him. Just as it swung its club, Meta Sword flipped over the dogan, dodging the attack and making a slice with his sword that cut the enemy in half down the middle.

"That was the Hyrulean Jumping Parry attack," he said smugly.

"That's pretty good," said Meta Blade, "but watch this!"

Meta Blade cleared a space around him of enemies and held his sword with both hands, pointing it back over his shoulder. As he concentrated, the sword began to glow and emit red sparks. Just when the enemies around him had closed in and were about to attack, he swung his sword downward to smash it flat on the ground.

What followed was a gigantic explosion that blasted the enemies around Meta Blade apart.

"It kinda hurts to perform," he said, patting the marks on his armor where he had burned the shiny paint off, "but wow does it kill." He looked around at the blasted enemies around him. "Did Meta Knight ever teach you that one? It's the Ostian Flare Blade attack."

"Yeah, he might have mentioned it," replied Meta Sword, "but I go for defense more than offense." He quickly held up his sword to block a feather bullet from an attacking birdon and then impaled the hapless creature. "You shouldn't have to sacrifice health for some big explosion."

"Whatever," said Meta Blade as he resumed fighting.

Kirby inverted the canopy of his Parasol again so that it was back to normal.

It was a sunny day in Yogurt Yard, which was quite a different setting than that of Fantasy Meadows.

Kirby prepared to fight Chuchu if necessary. He knew she was still under Dark Matter's control.

But when Kirby looked at her, he found that she was encased in a cube of ice.

_So that's what happened to her,_ he thought. _I hope that doesn't hurt._

"Kirby," said Gooey suddenly, "I have compiled information and can now tell you how to use this ability. You can capture foes with the Parasol, freezing them inside of it. You can then either release them as a block of ice, use them still inside the Parasol as a club, or shoot them out like a cannonball."

"Oh," replied Kirby. He didn't really know what else to say.

"So, how's Chuchu?"

"She's frozen in the ice cube in front of me."

Silence.

"What do I do now?" asked Kirby.

"I'm thinking," answered Gooey. "Flat out releasing her would be hazardous. Dark Matter would make her fight you to the death. But you can't just leave her in there. That solves nothing."

"I get the picture," said Kirby. "No melting the ice; no leaving it intact. This isn't helping."

"Hmm. Maybe if you free only her head... but no that wouldn't work. You know how good of a fighter she is; she'll break free of the remaining ice in nothing flat."

"Still not helping."

The ice was beginning to melt on its own.

"I must admit I never thought any of this would happen," continued Gooey. "Maybe with more research on your abilities I can come up with one that will provide a solution, but the chances of that are slim. In truth, I don't even know how to counter Dark Matter's hold on her."

Kirby sighed and looked at Chuchu again. 

He stared into her eyes. They were bloodshot and wild, with slits down the middle for pupils. 

Though Kirby didn't realize it, the very tip of her head had already thawed.

"How did you free Lololo and Lalala from possession?" asked Gooey.

"Well," answered Kirby, "after knocking out Lalala, I remember somehow getting Fire ability and burning their packaging. Lololo then became so concerned that he just snapped out of it."

"What about Lalala? She was knocked out, so it couldn't have been concern that freed her."

"Um, I dunno what happened to her. She was in her right mind by the time she woke up."

"In that case, I have it!" said Gooey triumphantly. "There are two ways for you to cure Chuchu. One: conjure up within her a very strong emotion to counteract Dark Matter's hold. Or two: knock her out."

"Knock her out?"

"Think about it! You told me that a Marx figure in Marx's mind was keeping Dark Matter out. Plus, those under Dark Matter's control never sleep."

"Wait," interrupted Kirby. "They never sleep? I didn't know that!"

"Well, now you do," said Gooey in an impatient tone. "As I was saying, if the victim loses consciousness, his or her mind will shut down. And since the mind is what Dark Matter has a hold on, it'll no longer be able to maintain possession. The Marx figure was acting as a subconscious force against Dark Matter. If the mind is put in such a subconscious state, it will be cleansed of intruding orders."

Silence.

"It's worth a shot," finished Gooey.

"Oh, come on!" complained Kirby. "I need more than that! Chuchu is probably one of the best fighters in Dreamland. How am I supposed to knock _her_ out without being ki-"

Kirby suddenly heard a cracking noise. Chuchu was breaking free of the ice. Not knowing what to do, Kirby did nothing.

With a smash, Chuchu blasted off her ice shell.

As she faced Kirby, he tried to come up with something to say or do that might buy him some time.

"Uh, hi... Chuchu," he said, his voice quavering. "Remember me? It's Kirby. You wanna go... find Marx and get the last star rod shard... or something?"

"Remember me, Kirby?" said Chuchu. "My name is Dark Matter. You have been in my way for too long. Now, you shall perish!"

"Uh, oh."

POW! Chuchu punched Kirby right between the eyes with one of her tentacles, sending him flying.

Kirby hit the ground and stood up, rubbing his wound.

"Now Chuchu," he said in the same quavering voice, "I don't want to hurt you..."

"Good," replied Chuchu. She had her tentacles extended and the ends balled into fists. "That'll make my job of killing you a lot easier."

"Here I am, Meta Knight," shouted Sasuke, emerging from his weaponry ship to stand on top of it. "Now, how am I to set about destroying this invisible force field that so confines you?"

The ships were close to each other, but not so close as to make Sasuke's shouting unnecessary.

Sasuke looked much like a red Dreamlander. He had the same mouth as one, the same absence of nose, the same feet, and the same arms. But his eyes were very different. They were big, dark blue and glassy, bulging out of his body like crystal balls. Sasuke also wore a shallow, cone-shaped, yellow hat. 

"Why are you not using the radio communications?" shouted Meta Knight back.

"I fear someone may be tapping the line," replied Sasuke loudly.

"What are you, paranoid?"

"Kirby had our communications bugged on the Halberd. Who's to say he isn't doing that again?"

Meta Knight considered reprimanding Sasuke for causing pointless inconvenience, but decided against it.

"Very well, Sasuke," he shouted. "Just get us out of here!"

"I already asked," replied Sasuke, "how?"

"Just blast it with your ship's laser guns!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Sasuke went back inside the ship.

The guns on the ship's underside pointed forward and fired.

A ray of red light emitted from the guns, connecting them with the force field. 

After a whole minute of holding the lasers steady, Sasuke turned them off. They had had no effect.

"I'll be back with more weapons, Meta Knight," shouted Sasuke, reemerging from a hatch in the top of the ship. "Maybe something else will be able to set you free."

"Why didn't you just bring all the weapons with you this time?" shouted Meta Knight.

"I didn't think I'd need them!"

_Bah,_ thought Meta Knight. _No wonder this guy does only odd jobs. He always jumps to conclusions._

Sasuke jumped back down into the ship and flew away.

Chuchu ran at Kirby, who summoned Fighter ability to become Fighter Kirby!

Chuchu threw punch after punch as Kirby blocked each one, slowly walking backwards as Chuchu advanced.

"Please, Chuchu," said Kirby, "stop."

"It is not Chuchu who you are fighting," retorted Chuchu. "It is Dark Matter in Chuchu's body!"

While throwing five punches at his face, Chuchu slipped one of her tentacles underneath Kirby and grabbed his foot.

Kirby felt himself be pulled through the air by his right foot. Using her tentacle, Chuchu swung him over her head and slammed him into the ground on the other side. Then she brought him back over and slammed him again. Then again... and again. Over and over and over.

After nine slams, Chuchu wound up and threw Kirby as far as she could... off the plateau.

Silence.

A warpstar flew down out of the sky to below the plateau and the supposed spot where Kirby landed.

A minute later, Kirby had flown back up and dismounted the warpstar, which disappeared.

"That really hurt," said Kirby in a flat, determined voice.

"What?" exclaimed Chuchu. "How are you not dead?!"

"First, Dark Matter," answered Kirby, "you should know that it takes a lot more than that to kill a Dreamlander. Second, no wound is so bad that a maximum tomato or two cannot cure it. And third..."

Kirby paused.

"...I'm not afraid to fight back," he finished, summoning two Hammer abilities to become Huge Hammer Kirby! A gigantic hammer/mallet appeared in Kirby's hand, the head of which was twice Kirby's size!

"Fight back?" said Chuchu. "And damage this precious body?"

"You said it yourself: it wont be Chuchu that I'm fighting," answered Kirby. Then he said in a lighter tone, "Besides, a little bonk on the head should be enough to put Chuchu asleep and that will spell your demise."

Kirby twirled his Hammer.

"If it's a fight you want, Kirby," said Chuchu, "then it's a fight you'll get!" She raced forward.

Kirby swung violently with his Hammer. To him, it felt no heavier than if it was made of cardboard.

Chuchu jumped backward, out of the way, and then tried another rush. But she had to jump back again as the Hammer came back around.

Kirby was spinning with the Hammer, using centrifugal force to keep going. Around and around he went. Then he slowly started moving toward Chuchu.

Chuchu, however, jumped over the swinging Hammer, flying through the air and landing on Kirby himself.

Kirby quickly swung the Hammer over his head, dislodging Chuchu.

Now Kirby was quite dizzy from all that pointless spinning, but he didn't let that show. Instead, he started going crazy with the Huge Hammer, swinging it in random directions, pounding it into the ground over and over.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Chuchu could just barely stay out of the way. Kirby's movements were so wild and unpredictable.

In his insane banging, Kirby was starting to cause the plateau to break. Unbeknownst to him, cracks were forming in the stone and pieces around the edge were already falling off. 

"Kirby! Stop! You're going to kill me!"

Kirby stopped and nearly fell over with dizziness, but he had noticed the change in Chuchu's voice. She was back to normal.

"Gotcha, Kirby," said Chuchu.

Kirby realized too late that he had been tricked. Chuchu wasn't cured after all, and in seconds she had pulled Kirby's Huge Hammer from his hand.

"I think I'll flatten you with this here hammer," said Chuchu, winding up.

BOOM! Kirby felt the blow like a house falling on him. He whimpered softly in pain and looked at Chuchu. She was winding up again.

Then Chuchu hesitated with the Hammer raised and Kirby noticed the slits in her eyes phase slightly towards circular and then back again.

Kirby knew this was his only chance. He summoned the first ability that he thought could have a chance of saving him. It was Fire plus High-Jump, which equals Jet Kirby!

Kirby turned over on the ground and fired his thrusters propelling him right into Chuchu. 

When Kirby slammed into her, they both flew a short distance to the edge of the plateau, where they landed in a heap.

Chuchu gave Kirby two quick punches, throwing him off of her and into the center of the plateau.

"That's IT!" she yelled. "Now you die!"

Chuchu grabbed the Hammer, swung it back, and unleashed as much force as she could to bring it down on Kirby... who managed to dodge at the last second.

BOOM!!! 

Silence.

Crack, crack. Crack! CRACKKKKKK! The plateau had withstood its last blow. It was breaking apart.

Kirby felt the floor give way beneath him and tumbled down with it. Rolling over and over in a landslide of rocks and dirt, he fell.

Somehow... miraculously... he ended up on top of the rocks, instead of underneath them, when he came to rest.

Chuchu was not so lucky. She was crushed under a pile of boulders from the rockslide. 

As the dust slowly settled, Kirby held the phone to his mouth.

"Maximum..." he said, coughing, "tomato..."

"I'll get right on it!" replied Gooey, his cheerfulness coming as a sharp pain for Kirby.

When the maximum tomato arrived on a warpstar. Kirby simply inhaled. He was too hurt and tired to get up. The warpstar disappeared before it would have entered his mouth as well.

Finally, Kirby's pain subsided and he got up.

"What happened to Chuchu?" asked Gooey.

"I don't know," answered Kirby. "Maybe she was buried when the rocks broke."

"Well, you'd better find her. She's the reason you're out here."

"Okay..."

Kirby looked around.

"Uh," he asked, "is there any ability I have at my disposal that may help me find a buried octopus in a field of rocks?"

"Nope," answered Gooey.

"Then how am I going to find her?"

"Let me think for a sec."

Silence.

"Here," said Gooey, "I have just sent instructions to your phone to beep when you are close to her. The phone has scanners that will pick up small movements. It should recognize her breathing."

"Okay."

Kirby walked around. Eventually (duh) the phone started beeping.

Kirby summoned Fighter ability to become Fighter Kirby! He then pushed and kicked the large rocks around him aside.

Chuchu lay there, slightly squashed and bleeding in numerous places. Kirby felt a pang of sympathy, or sentiment, as he looked at her. He was so sorry for what had happened to her.

As Chuchu opened her eyes, all Kirby's feelings turned to joy. Her pupils were back to normal, meaning she was finally free of Dark Matter!

"Ow," she said.

Chuchu looked up at Kirby.

"What happened?" she asked dazedly.

"I saved you," answered Kirby, making a long story short.

Chuchu tried to get up, but made a pained expression with her face and fell back down.

Kirby jumped down into the small hole Chuchu was in and helped her to her feet... or tentacles... or whatever.

"What you need," said Kirby, "is a maximum tomato."

Chuchu ate the maximum tomato, while Kirby told her the whole story of what had happened while she was possessed.

After Chuchu had learned what Kirby had been through, she gave him the biggest hug an octopus could give a Dreamlander.


	66. A Mess of Power — Part 4

**Chapter 66: A Mess of Power - Part 4**

FsshBOOM! The rocket launcher had no effect.

PerZOWfzz! Neither did the plasma cannon.

BONG-G-G-G-G-G-Grattle! Same with the battering ram.

Fwoshissssssssssssssssss! And the napalm.

Sphing! Not to mention the laser-cut sword.

Slosh! Plus the acid.

CRRRRzzzzzzzzzzKKKKKK! And the heavy-duty drill.

ZEEEEoofzz! _And_ the disruptor beam.

Slap!

"Hitting the field isn't going to have any affect, Sasuke!" shouted Meta Knight impatiently. "Just keep trying with the arsenal!"

"I can't, Sir!" yelled Sasuke back. "I've used up all the weapons I could fit on this ship. They were the ones I thought would most likely affect the force field!"

"You need to be more creative, Sasuke. Maybe a weapon isn't what will destroy this thing. Or maybe these weapons are not strong enough."

Silence.

"Should I go get the nuke?" asked Sasuke.

"No, you idiot!" roared Meta Knight. "Am I the only one who knows just how dangerous that thing is?!"

"Sorry, Sir."

Meta Knight growled under his breath.

"Wow, this is, like, big," understated Chuchu wide-eyed.

"Yeah, I know," replied Kirby.

"And I was down there? In the middle of it all?"

"Yep."

"Did I kick butt?"

"Yep."

"Cool!"

"Sorry to interrupt," interrupted Gooey. In case you hadn't already realized, Kirby and Chuchu were now flying over Fantasy Meadows. "Kirby, Chuchu, on inspiration from the Ripple Star Fairies, I have devised the following plan. You are to harness as much light as is possible and somehow permeate Fantasy Meadows with its brightness. This will halt both armies long enough for you to intervene."

"And by 'intervene'," said Chuchu, "you mean... what?"

"I'd rather not tell you until the time comes. You may not like what I have in mind and I want to make sure you do it."

"Okay," said Kirby. "If it's the best plan you got, we'll go ahead with it! As for the light source, maybe Light ability will work."

"Yes, that should do it..." replied Gooey. "I'll see if I have something I can send you so that you can inhale this unsummonable ability."

"Why can't you, like, summon it?" asked Chuchu.

"It's a one-time-use ability," explained Kirby, looking down into the battle. "They are the kind that can't be summoned."

"This is so confusing," said Chuchu.

It was still raining hard. Chuchu, of course, didn't mind this, being an octopus and liking water moisture of whatever kind. Kirby, neglecting to summon Parasol, saw something down in the battle with his obscured vision.

"Gooey!" he said. "I see a light-based enemy down below! I'm just going to inhale that to get the ability!"

"But," protested Gooey, "what if it's not a light-based enemy? How can you know? Look, Kirby, I have right here a capsule of bioluminescent chemicals. They're the stuff that gives you Light ability. I seriously doubt anything in Fantasy Meadows would have such... Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Gooey's irritated question had been provoked by the sound of inhalation on Kirby's end of the phone. Kirby had inhaled what turned out to be a Plasma Wisp from the Meta Army and swallowed.

Instead of getting Light ability as Kirby had hoped, he transformed into Plasma Kirby! Kirby grew spiky green crystals out of his head, which began to throb with light and heat energy. A headband then encircled the crystals and a blue gem appeared on its front. This is different from when Kirby has Spark ability. The Spark hat consists of spastic electricity and sparks that dance all over Kirby's head, not to mention Kirby turning green. The headband is the same.

"What the @!$#?!" swore Gooey. "How did... What just happened?!"

"I'm..." began Kirby.

"Plasma Kirby!!!" yelled Gooey.

"Yeah, that."

"That makes 14 summonable abilities, raising the number of combo-abilities available to 105!"

"Wow."

"Information is streaming onto my computer screen! Plasma is the most complex ability you've found so far! In just a minute I'll be able to tell you how to work it!"

"You can stop shouting, you know."

"Plasma ability, eh?" said Chuchu, flying over to Kirby.

"Apparently so," replied Kirby.

Some minutes later...

"Okay, Kirby," said Gooey. "Plasma ability was really easy to get info on, so I have completed the new list. Here's how to use Plasma: At first, all you can do is rapidly throw these short-range, minor-damage Plasma Needles, but if you charge up, you can do more damaging attacks. To charge up, stand still and focus your mind on the green crystals on your head. You will feel a zap of energy if you do that correctly. Then you will be able to fire a Plasma Arrow. If you charge up twice, you will be able to fire a Plasma Spark. Charge up three times and you can fire a Plasma Laser. Charge up four times, the maximum, and you'll be able to shoot off a giant orb of energy, like those that can come out of a Plasma Wave Cannon! But be careful: Performing any of these charged-up attacks will deplete all your charged-up energy and you will be back to throwing the Plasma Needles. You got all that?"

"Uh," said Plasma Kirby. "I think so. Normally, I just experiment with abilities. I always remember stuff after I've done it. It's not so easy to remember everything I _hear_."

"Now," continued Gooey as though Kirby had not responded, "as for combining it with other abilities, here's the scoop. Instead of creating a completely unique combo-ability, Plasma plus whatever will allow you to charge up the 'whatever' like you can do the Plasma. Just focus on your weapon and charge up."

"Okay..."

"In the meantime, trash your power, you can summon it again later if you want. I'm sending over my mixture for Light ability. The warpstar should arrive soon."

The warpstar arrived four seconds later.

Kirby poured the glowing chemicals into his mouth to become Light Kirby! Just before Kirby was about to execute his power, however, Chuchu interrupted.

"Hold it, Kirby," she said. "I have a question for Gooey that I want answered before we try this airy-Fairy-inspired plan."

"I'm listening," said Gooey.

"How," asked Chuchu, "were the Ripple Star Fairies defeated?"

Gooey explained what the Fairies had done when they intervened on the war. After telling the part about Meta Knight blowing a hole in the Queen's barrier, Chuchu scoffed.

"Good story, Gooey," she said accusingly. "What a bucket of lies. Why did you even bother? You could have just told us you didn't know. Or did you not want your reputation tarnished?"

"What do you mean?" asked Gooey. "I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are!" retorted Chuchu. "Nothing in the universe can destroy the Queen's aerial blockade of magic and you know it!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

"Well, Galaxia can."

"What rubbish! You're telling me that that sword, which can destroy the incarnation of darkness itself, Dark Matter, can actually break through the very opposite as well, the wall of peace?!"

"Yes." 

Silence. 

"And," continued Gooey, "I've always found that whole 'wall of peace' expression to be a bit of an oxymoron."

"Gooey!" exclaimed Chuchu. "We are talking about a legendary sword of light here! Galaxia destroys darkness! Why would it then destroy WALLS OF PEACE as well?!"

"That would be because nothing is immune to its power." Gooey's voice slowed. "The truth is that Galaxia was never forged to destroy great evil. It was forged to destroy... everything."

The following is an excerpt from the recently-updated Curiosity File #35 in Gooey's data archives. Once again, you don't really need to read it; it's just here for reference.

_Because Kirby now has six star rod shards, he can summon abilities at will. The fifth star rod shard also gave him the power to combine abilities into combo abilities. For my own convenience and curiosity, I have compiled a list of every combo-ability possible. There are 105 in all and they are here in alphabetical order by combination. I have also added comments, for memory's sake._

_Parasol is now added to the list below. All Plasma abilities are in a special list below that. Every combo-ed Plasma attack is listed. The numbers represent how many times Kirby needs to charge up before using the specific attack._

Beam + Beam = Super Beam

Beam + Bomb = Cannon (the cannonballs have exploding shells)

Beam + Cutter = Mini Cut-Beam

Beam + Fighter = Fighter Energy (attacks fire projectiles of energy)

Beam + Fire = Flaming Beam

Beam + Hammer = Multi-Hammer

Beam + High-Jump = Flash (he disappears in a Flash)

Beam + Ice = Freezing Beam

Beam + Needle = Hookshot

Beam + Parasol = Starry Parasol

Beam + Spark = Laser

Beam + Stone = Electric Wrecking-Ball

Beam + Sword = Sword Beam

Bomb + Bomb = Homing Missile

Bomb + Cutter = Ninja

Bomb + Fighter = Power Punch (sends enemies flying)

Bomb + Fire = Firework

Bomb + Hammer = Exploding Hammer

Bomb + High-Jump = Rocket

Bomb + Ice = Snowman (explodes)

Bomb + Needle = Spike Shooter (shoots spikes in every direction)

Bomb + Parasol = Bomb Floater

Bomb + Spark = Lightbulb

Bomb + Stone = Dynamite (very dangerous)

Bomb + Sword = Pirate (make sure he uses this; it should be entertaining)

Cutter + Cutter = Super Cutter

Cutter + Fighter = Cut-Punch

Cutter + Fire = Fire Cutter (actually cuts Fire)

Cutter + Hammer = 2-D Hammer

Cutter + High-Jump = Fan (dangerously fast on ice)

Cutter + Ice = Ice-Skater

Cutter + Needle = Snare (Venus flytrap-esque)

Cutter + Parasol = Pendulum

Cutter + Spark = Chainsaw

Cutter + Stone = Sculpture (he can become anything)

Cutter + Sword = Razor Sword (laser-cut)

Fighter + Fighter = Saiyan (look into this; I know I've heard this word before)

Fighter + Fire = Friction (the Friction is in his hands)

Fighter + Hammer = Hammer-Fist (his hand turns into a Hammer)

Fighter + High-Jump = Suplex (wrestling at its best)

Fighter + Ice = Ice Punch (ice blocks on hands shatter after punches)

Fighter + Needle = Spike-Knuckle

Fighter + Parasol = Enemy Floater

Fighter + Spark = Robo

Fighter + Stone = Stone-Fist

Fighter + Sword = Samurai

Fire + Fire = Comet

Fire + Hammer = Flaming Hammer

Fire + High-Jump = Jet

Fire + Ice = Melt (leaves behind a pool of acid)

Fire + Needle = Fire Arrow

Fire + Parasol = Flaming Parasol (twirl the Parasol for interesting effects)

Fire + Spark = Fire Starter (uses plexiglass)

Fire + Stone = Volcano

Fire + Sword = Fire Sword

Hammer + Hammer = Huge Hammer

Hammer + High-Jump = Golfing

Hammer + Ice = Pickaxe

Hammer + Needle = Spike Hammer

Hammer + Parasol = Battering Ram

Hammer + Spark = Thunder

Hammer + Stone = Stone Hammer

Hammer + Sword = Hammer Sword 

High-Jump + High-Jump = Super High-Jump

High-Jump + Ice = Snow

High-Jump + Needle = Corkscrew (the attack, not the hardware)

High-Jump + Parasol = Parasol Flyer

High-Jump + Spark = Shock

High-Jump + Stone = Meteor

High-Jump + Sword = Berserk

Ice + Ice = Huge Snowball

Ice + Needle = Giant Snowflake (grows quickly)

Ice + Parasol = Trapper

Ice + Spark = Refrigerator (use if there is a shortage of Maximum Tomatoes)

Ice + Stone = Hockey Puck

Ice + Sword = Icicle Sword

Needle + Needle = Sharp (lots of pointy things)

Needle + Parasol = Parasol Spring

Needle + Spark = Lightning Rod

Needle + Stone = Drill

Needle + Sword = Lance

Parasol + Parasol = Giant Parasol

Parasol + Spark = Wind (as in, involving air movement; not "winding up")

Parasol + Stone = Stone Parasol

Parasol + Sword = Suction (makes it easy to impale enemies)

Spark + Spark = Aura

Spark + Stone = Flint

Spark + Sword = Darth

Stone + Stone = Monolith (really, really, REALLY big)

Stone + Sword = Stone Sword

Sword + Sword = Two-Sword

Plasma + Beam = Hyper-Beam

0 = Beam Swipe

1 = Beam Whip (normal Beam attack)

2 = Beam Spin

3 = Beam Tentacles

4 = Giant Beam Sweep

Plasma + Bomb = Hyper-Bomb (charge up the bomb before it explodes)

0 = Dud Throw (bombs don't explode)

1 = Bomb Throw (normal Bomb attack)

2 = Bazooka Blast

3 = TNT Rig

4 = Nitroglycerine Tsunami

Plasma + Cutter = Hyper-Cutter

0 = Mini-Cut

1 = Boomerang Throw

2 = Progressive Cutter (Mini-Cut barrage followed by Final Cutter)

3 = Mega Scythe

4 = 2-D Blast

Plasma + Fighter = Hyper-Fighter

0 = Jab

1 = Speeding Kick

2 = Enemy Whirl (grabs an enemy to whirl around and bash others with)

3 = Omega Fighter Attack

4 = Mach-Speed Barrage

Plasma + Fire = Hyper-Fire

0 = Small Flame Aura

1 = Fire Breath (normal Fire attack)

2 = Burning Attack

3 = Large Flame Aura

4 = Celestial Duo Attack

Plasma + Hammer = Hyper-Hammer

0 = Sand Mallet

1 = Hammer Swing (normal Hammer attack)

2 = Hammer Spin

3 = Hammer Throw

4 = Earthquake

Plasma + High-Jump = Hyper-Jump

0 = Jump (useless)

1 = High-Jump (normal High-Jump attack)

2 = Missile-Jump

3 = Split-Jump (multiple Kirby copies)

4 = Starburst

Plasma + Ice = Hyper-Ice

0 = Small Freezing Aura

1 = Ice Breath (normal Ice attack)

2 = Ice Swirl

3 = Large Freezing Aura

4 = Blizzard

Plasma + Needle = Hyper-Needle

0 = Spike Ball (small version of normal Needle attack)

1 = Spike Shot

2 = Spike Burst (normal Spike Shooter attack)

3 = Giant Spike Ball

4 = Extremely Long Needle

Plasma + Parasol = Hyper-Parasol

0 = Parasol Shield

1 = Wind Gust

2 = Bulldozer Attack (canopy inverts and shoots at enemies)

3 = Star Fountain

4 = Acid Rain

Plasma + Spark = Hyper-Spark

0 = Sparks

1 = Spark Ball (normal Spark attack)

2 = Lightning Smite

3 = Giant Spark Ball

4 = Thunderstorm

Plasma + Stone = Hyper-Stone

0 = Rock Transform (normal Stone attack)

1 = Living Statue (he turns into a stone statue of himself that can move)

2 = Boulder Transform

3 = Giant Living Statue

4 = Gravity Attack

Plasma + Sword = Hyper-Sword

0 = Knife

1 = Sword Slice (normal Sword attack)

2 = Magic Sword Spin

3 = Hurricane Spin (move while spinning violently)

4 = Infinite Swords

Plasma + Plasma = Overheat (no charging up) (use only as a last resort!!!)


	67. A Mess of Power — Part 5

**Chapter 67: A Mess of Power - Part 5**

"What?!" exclaimed Kirby and Chuchu together. Chuchu, however, continued, "Gooey, how much do you know about Galaxia?"

"Not much," admitted Gooey. "What I just told you is about it. But I do know its approximate date of creation: about two thousand years ago, by the Odnetnin calendar."

"Odnetnin?" said Kirby. "Haven't I heard that somewhere before?" 

"Why should you?" replied Gooey. "That calendar isn't in use on Pop Star, which isn't surprising since we don't have years here."

"Hmm," muttered Kirby.

This was such a trivial question that Gooey hadn't remembered the correct answer. In truth, Kirby _had_ heard the word before. Don't believe me? Look near the beginning of chapter 46 and you'll see.

"Oh, come on!" said Chuchu impatiently. "You gotta know more about Galaxia than _that_!"

"Well, let's see," said Gooey. "It can destroy anything, the forging date was two millennia ago, the blade itself is indestructible, it looks like a normal (but slightly orange) sword until activated, um... Meta Knight currently possesses it... Really, that's all I know."

Chuchu sighed.

"Okay, Kirby," she said. "Go ahead."

Kirby activated his Light ability, and then immediately wished he hadn't.

Earlier...

As Sasuke blasted the force field with more weapons (which included an ice ray, a suction device, a powerful water hose, and more), Meta Knight consulted Captain Birdbrain on the distribution of pay after the war was won.

Though the LAP did not remember this, "Professor Birdbrain" had long ago held the position of manager. Not _leader_ manager, but more _management_ manager. Not only could he fly any aircraft placed in front of him, but he also took care of the LAP's affairs and made sure everything was neat and in order. (Remember what the LAP HQ looked like when Kirby went there? It was a _mess_ without Birdbrain's help.) Anyway, he was quite a different person back then.

The now Captain still had a knack for this sort of thing and Meta Knight knew about that only too well. Without Captain Birdbrain's help, Meta Knight might not have been as obscenely rich as he was.

"Meta Drone has no need of money," said Meta Knight, "so there is no need to give him any, but I would like to take seven-and-a-half percent of the total wealth and divide it up evenly between the remaining six of the Meta Clan. Then the rest of the Generals should each get one percent. You and Escargoon, who I hope is getting the job done down there, will each get one-and-a-quarter percent, just like those in the Meta Clan. Then..."

Meta Knight went on to divide up the remaining eighty-four percent among the helping hands at the Meta Base, the secondary crew of the Halberd, and the soldiers, with specifications as to those that had served in more than one of the above areas. This covered thousands of Meta Army members and there is no need to share the details. I don't want to bore you out of your minds.

And throughout Meta Knight's discussion with Captain Birdbrain, Sasuke continued to do everything within his power to break open the force field. Needless to say, he wasn't succeeding.

Captain Birdbrain absorbed this information like a dry sponge absorbing water. When Meta Knight had finally finished, he posed an interesting question.

"Um... Sir Meta Knight, if I may," he asked, "what about you? Aren't you going to keep any of this wealth for yourself? From what you've told me, you're giving every ounce of it to, well, us. I'm not complaining, but... I just had to ask."

"Money," said Meta Knight. "What use is it? All it is is an exchange unit for material items. I don't need money and I think nobody should. Besides, once I rule this place, I'll be able to get anything I want."

"I like the way you think."

"Meta Knight," interrupted Sasuke, "I've depleted my weapons again. All I have left is this giant mirror."

Silence.

"You said I needed to be creative," continued Sasuke, "but I haven't a clue as to how this sort of thing is supposed to help."

Silence.

"Meta Drone," said Meta Knight, getting a sudden inspiration, "has the Wrath Cannon cooled off enough to be operational again?"

"Yup," replied Meta Drone. 

"Sasuke," continued Meta Knight, "aim that giant mirror at the Wrath Cannon. My theory is that if we fire a shot out and reflect it back at the _outside_ it may destroy the field!"

"Splendid idea!" cheered Sasuke as he put the mirror in position.

"Meta Drone," commanded Meta Knight. "Charge the Wrath Cannon and fire directly at the mirror."

"Okay, dude!" answered Meta Drone.

The Wrath Cannon slowly charged up, its power core emitting quickening revving noises. 

A blinding light suddenly encased the entirety of Fantasy Meadows in its glow.

In the confusion, the Wrath Cannon fired. The beam then ricocheted off the mirror and shot back through the field, destroying it. However, the beam continued backward, blasting the Wrath Cannon to smithereens and blowing a chunk out of the weaponry ship.

Earlier again...

The eye of Dark Matter surfaced from the darkness.

_What am I to do?_ thought Dark Matter. _I can't believe I'm losing! Now I know why they call Meta Knight the master planner._

_How am I going to get out of this one? If I back out, then Meta Knight will destroy Neo City. If I keep battling, then I'm destined to lose. But I can't surrender either, for that would mean I'd have to leave Pop Star and release everyone under my possession!_

Dark Matter looked up to see Kirby and Chuchu high above the battle.

_And now even Kirby has joined the fun. With all this against me, I may not even get out of this alive! And now he's transformed into Light Kirby. I'd better shut my eye. I don't want him to temporarily paralyze me like the Ripple Star Fairies did._

As Dark Matter closed its eye, an idea sparked.

_Wait! That's it! I have the Fairy Queen in my possession! Then I can... errgh... oh, blast it! Her magic banishes darkness. That means using it would free her from my grasp. Bah! It would take a miracle for me to win!_

"Aaaaaaah!" screamed Chuchu and Kirby together. The light was blinding. The last time Kirby had used Light was in complete darkness. This time it was just in the middle of a storm. The combined light nearly caused Kirby and Chuchu to faint.

"What happened?" asked Gooey.

In their insane panic and confusion, Kirby managed to blurt out, "The light! It's too bright!"

"What?" asked Gooey; but then he said in understanding, "Oh... I hadn't thought of that. I suppose you'll just have to shut your eyes and wait until the light fades. The field below must be in a great amount of confusion. So, there's nothing that could possibly happen until then."

"Generals!" shrieked Meta Sword. "Do not stop fighting! Shield your eyes and go on! Stopping will let Dark Matter take you! Keep going!"

The other generals did what they were told. But the problem was that they were now the only ones in the battle that were moving at all.

_What?_ thought Dark Matter in disbelief. _I sure am glad I closed my eye. That light must be blinding, because almost all action in the battle has stopped._

Dark Matter remained motionless for a few seconds, collecting his thoughts.

_Excellent. Now is the time to strike!_

The essence of Dark Matter quickly spread out and encased the entirety of Fantasy Meadows.

Meta Knight's weaponry ship crashed to the ground.

There was a sudden silence throughout Fantasy Meadows.

Then Dark Matter began to swell.

"All the life in Dreamland," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words, "shall now be mine!"

The darkness swept away toward Neo City.

The light finally dimmed.

Kirby and Chuchu now hovered above an almost completely deserted Fantasy Meadows. All that was left were two ships (one of which was a smoldering wreck) and a group of soldiers. Everything else had been taken by Dark Matter.

The landscape looked utterly wrecked, like a tornado had hit it. Mud was everywhere and the churned up earth showed no signs of life. The rain had finally stopped, but the clouds were darker than ever.


	68. No Longer Knightly

**Chapter 68: No Longer Knightly**

A few yards away from the burning wreck that was once a weaponry ship, there lay a writhing figure that was emitting enough utterly obscene profanity as to, if it was printed, raise the suitability rating of this story to an "R".

Captain Birdbrain had broken his wing.

"For God's sake, Cap!" yelled Sasuke above the racket. "Stop swearing! This is more painful than Meta Drone's voice!"

The generals, all of which were present, seemed to share Sasuke's sentiment. Those that had ears were holding them and the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General was hiding inside his helmet. Those that didn't have ears, well, it wasn't pretty. 

Meta Knight lay a few feet from Captain Birdbrain, unconscious. 

Meta Drone seemed to be okay. He was currently inspecting the horrendous damage done to the weaponry ship.

It wasn't until Captain Birdbrain finally collapsed, crying, that the others fully realized just how bad the situation was.

THEY HAD LOST THE WAR AND THE REST OF THE META ARMY HAD BEEN TAKEN BY DARK MATTER.

"We're not winning, are we?" asked the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General, emerging from his helmet. 

Silence. The only noise was Captain Birdbrain's soft whimpering.

No one could quite grasp their defeat.

"Um, so," said Sasuke hollowly, "what do we do now?"

Most of the generals gave Sasuke hate-filled looks. His voice always sounded casual, no matter what he did with it, and a casual tone of voice was sure to touch nerves in such seriousness.

"We kill Kirby," said a voice.

"Meta Knight!" gasped a number of the generals. 

Yes, it was indeed Meta Knight who had spoken. He had awoken and gotten to his feet moments earlier. His mask was still intact, but otherwise he looked terrible. He had dirt marks all over his body, his cape lay burning on the ground a foot away from him, and he didn't seem to quite be standing straight.

"Kirby is the reason we are in this fix," he said. His voice sounded more gruff than usual. It seemed to cost him some effort to speak, but his voice was full of determination as well. "Kirby is the reason we have not achieved our goals. Kirby is the reason Dark Matter is now more powerful than ever. Kirby is the reason why this whole Galaxy is doomed without my guidance." His voice started to sound a bit insane. "Kirby is the incarnation of evil sent to make everything in the universe go wrong. He may look innocent, like all the other pathetic Dreamlanders, but wherever he goes, he leaves behind a path of destruction and mayhem. He must be stopped at all costs! For only then will the world be at peace!!!"

Meta Knight turned to the side and strode over to an insignificant-looking patch of mud on the ground. He then pushed his hands into the slime and pulled out Galaxia, which was still in its activated state. Meta Knight's eyes flared red once more and now they seemed to burn with intense fire like nothing the generals had ever seen.

Well, the generals were in no mood to go on a wild goose chase after Kirby, but they had no idea what they did want to do. Luckily, they were saved from answering.

"What about me?" shrieked Captain Birdbrain. "My wing! It's not supposed to be bent at this angle!"

As if to respond to the Captain's cry, the ground began to shake.

Suddenly, a gigantic drill emerged from the ground some distance from the surprised generals. Once out of the ground, the drill fell over and stopped. Attached to it was a cube-shaped machine, which evidently powered the drill, a spherical capsule and a long cargo car.

The capsule opened and out jumped...

"Have no fear! Escargoon is here!" said the oversized snail. He then looked around. "Is the battle over?" he asked disappointedly.

"Yes," answered Meta Knight, "AND WE LOST!!!"

The sides of Escargoon's mouth fell and his eyes widened.

Silence. By the way, Escargoon was no longer covered in blood. He looked as good as ever, except for the exaggerated frown that was now drooped over his face.

"Well, don't just stand there!" squawked Captain Birdbrain at Escargoon. "Do you have a cast in that thing?" He motioned towards the cargo car. 

"Why do you need a cast?" asked Escargoon.

"Can't you @!$#ing see with your @!$#ing eyes how @!$#ed up my wing is?!!" With the use of his good wing, Captain Birdbrain lifted up his bad one.

For some reason, this seemed to cheer Escargoon up.

"Say no more," he said, rushing back to the cargo car. Once there, Escargoon opened a door, went in, and came back out with a yellow-and-orange bottle in his hand.

"This is an invention of mine," he said. "I'm very good with chemicals and have created an all-purpose healing solution! I call it Peppy Tonic."

"I think your dubbing could use a little work," commented Yamikage.

"It sounds good to me," put in the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

Escargoon handed the Tonic to Captain Birdbrain, who immediately dumped the whole contents of the bottle into his large pelican beak. 

As he swallowed, Escargoon backed slowly away. The Captain gave him a quizzical look.

Then there was a snapping, cracking sound.

Captain Birdbrain let out a loud shriek of pain as his wing straightened itself and healed good as new.

"Works well, doesn't it?" said Escargoon smugly.

"THAT @!$#ING HURT!" shouted Captain Birdbrain. "IF I'D KNOWN IT WOULD HURT SO !#@$ @!$#ING MUCH, I THINK WOULD HAVE KEPT THE @!$#ING BROKEN WING!!!"

Escargoon didn't look so happy after that. Not only had Captain Birdbrain hated something Escargoon had made, but the Captain's shouting had also sprayed Escargoon with an uncanny amount of spit.

Meta Knight, his patience at its limit, interrupted.

"Sasuke," he said impatiently, "we are commandeering your ship. Captain, you take the wheel and get us to Kirby by any means necessary. I have many plans for getting rid of him and most require a group effort. Escargoon, Sasuke, Captain, Generals, I enlist you all as temporary members of the elite Meta Clan."

"Cool!" cheered yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior enthusiastically. "Can I be Meta Bomb?"

"But what about CDHG?" asked Meta Lance.

"He can be Meta Donut," answered yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior.

"Sounds good to me," said the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"Then I shall be Meta Ninja," said Yamikage.

"And I Meta Cutter," added Silver Kibble.

"I guess I'll be Meta Wheel," put in Big Wheelie.

"No!" interrupted Meta Knight. "No name changes! You keep your old names! No more delays! Kirby must be eradicated immediately!!!"

"Aww," whined yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior. "I wanted to be Meta Bomb."

"Let's go," grunted Meta Knight, hopping into the ship. The now larger Meta Clan followed suit.

Kirby and Chuchu had already fled the scene. 

Chuchu was crying and Kirby was on the verge of doing so as well. Their entire mission seemed to have failed.

"This is all your fault Gooey!" sputtered Chuchu between sobs. "If you hadn't told Kirby to use Light, Dark Matter wouldn't... Dreamland wouldn't..."

Chuchu wavered off and Gooey didn't reply. 

Kirby knew what was happening. Dark Matter was headed straight for Neo City to claim the Dreamlanders within it. After the feast, Dark Matter would grow so large that its essence would be able to envelop Pop Star. Then it would be unstoppable. 

Kirby and Chuchu were headed for Neo City themselves, in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the above from happening.

Yayaya, a yellow-orange Dreamlander, had just found Nununu, his forest-green friend, on the roof of a building, finishing the round of Hide-and-Seek. 

Now it was just about dinnertime and the two pals said their good-byes before heading back to their respective houses.

But something was wrong. Yayaya could see something black creeping towards the city, some sort of ooze. As it drew closer, the darkness slowly covered the sun, which had already begun to set. This caused a great shadow to fall over Neo City.

Panic erupted. Yayaya, along with all the other Dreamlanders of Neo City, started to run. Where they were running to, they didn't know, but they could feel that the blackness was bad and they didn't want to end up under it.

_Your attempts at escape are futile,_ thought Dark Matter to itself, watching the multicolored mass flow away. _It will all be over soon._ If Dark Matter had a mouth, it would have grinned.

Yayaya was jostled this way and that as he did his best to run along with the great mass around him. 

And now the sinister shade had quickened its pace, flooding Neo City with its essence.

The Dreamlanders were uncoordinated when in mob form. Disorder caused many to fall on their faces and maybe even be accidentally pushed backwards by their fellows. 

The Dreamlanders couldn't stop. They were running blind.

Yayaya stumbled and the Dreamlander in back of him jumped over him to keep going. But that Dreamlander then landed on the head of another and a domino effect caused about fifteen of them, including Yayaya, to fall down.

"GOTTA KEEP MOVING!" screamed the Dreamlanders' instincts. 

Yayaya tried to push himself up, but the crowd was too dense. Paralyzed on the ground, he could only watch as that strange shade covered Neo City.

Darkness enveloped him. A jolt of pain caused his body to spasm, his eyes bugging out. Then he knew no more.

"Dark Matter!" shouted a voice. "Stop!"

The great red eye turned and narrowed.

"You're too late, Kirby," replied King Dedede from atop a building, speaking Dark Matter's words. "I have just taken the last of the life in Neo City," ("NO!" screamed Chuchu.) "but it seems I have yet to possess the entire Dreamlander race. I thank you for coming. Your essence will make my collection complete!"

Five of Dark Matter's tentacles sped out towards Kirby, and before he could even react, the warpstar was destroyed and Kirby was covered by the tentacles. He only had time to emit a terrified shriek from within before it was over.

"Kirby!" screamed Chuchu.

Silence. This was it. Dark Matter had won. Chuchu started to sob again.

But for some reason, Dark Matter wasn't moving. It was just holding Kirby in a black ball of tentacles. One might have expected King Dedede to emit an evil laugh at this point, but something was clearly wrong.

Chuchu stopped crying, yet stayed put. She knew that touching Dark Matter would put her under possession, but she couldn't understand what was going on.

"Why can't I possess you?!" growled King Dedede. "Maybe you need to be broken first."

Dark electricity surged across the tentacles and disappeared into the ball that contained Kirby.

Silence.

Dark Matter sent another jolt down to Kirby... and then another... and another! Now a continuous stream of dark electricity flowed like fire across the tentacles into the ball at the end, but no effect was noticeable.

"Stop it!" shouted Chuchu. "I don't know if you're hurting Kirby, but I won't let you do this any longer!"

"Chuchu," said King Dedede, looking over, "your will shall be mine again!" 

Four more tentacles shot out to wrap around Chuchu, but she had much better reflexes than Kirby.

Chuchu swerved away from the tentacles, flew around to the building on which King Dedede stood and flipped over onto it. As she flipped, she held onto one corner of the warpstar. On landing, she used the momentum of her flip to send the warpstar spinning directly at Dark Matter's eye, which did not close fast enough.

The warpstar exploded on contact, blasting the eye a couple feet backwards in the air.

"That should be enough to hold you for a while!" called Chuchu to Dark Matter.

The tentacles released Kirby, who fell towards the ground far below. Luckily, Dark Matter had left no damage on Kirby at all and he inflated to float over to Chuchu.

King Dedede fainted in front of them, but his eyes remained open and the pupils slitted.

"Thanks," said Kirby, panting. "I owe you one."

"I think we're even," replied Chuchu.

The pair watched as Dark Matter's eye sunk slowly down into the black essence around it. 

"Kirby! Chuchu!" said Gooey from the phone. "My sensors are detecting an explosion of anti-matter particles at Heat Top! Go there immediately! It may be Marx's current location."

Two warpstars arrived beside Kirby and Chuchu.

Captain Birdbrain was piloting as usual and the arsenal ship was headed for Neo City. Escargoon's cargo had been loaded onto the top.

"Do you have any weapons up there, Escargoon?" asked Meta Knight. "Everyone needs to be armed, with one exception."

"Sure, Sir Meta Knight," answered Escargoon. "Definitely."

"What kind of weapon will I get?" asked Captain Birdbrain. "Can I have one of those high-tech laser blaster things?"

"Captain," replied Meta Knight, "you are the exception. Remember the last time we gave you a weapon?" 

Captain Birdbrain made an expression that looked like he was trying to bite his lip, which is a difficult thing to do when you have a beak.

"A bazooka is not a toy," continued Meta Knight. "Besides, you always shoot first and ask questions later."

"But, Sir Meta Knight," protested the Captain, "that's what _he_ does!" He pointed at the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General, who replied, "Sounds good to me."

"Oh... very well," submitted Meta Knight. "You can have a blaster, but don't misuse it."

Captain Birdbrain smiled and returned his focus to piloting.

"Bazooka..." murmured Escargoon. "That reminds me. I have a missile launcher up there that I want to try out."

"That just leaves you, Sasuke," said Meta Knight. "Do you have a weapon preference."

Sasuke thought for a bit and then answered, "Well, a flame-thrower would be nice."

"Got it," said Escargoon.

"Excellent," said Meta Knight. "Now to discuss my first plan. Once within range, we shall send a message to the kaboomba in Heat Top, telling it to detonate if it sees Kirby. Since I know how Kirby thinks-"

_No you don't,_ thought Meta Axe.

"-I can predict that he will go to Heat Top to try to disarm the bomb. When he enters, KABOOM!"

"Wahahahaha!" laughed Captain Birdbrain.

"But the eruption will still destroy Neo City," replied Escargoon. "Yeah, I know Dark Matter will have taken all the life from there by now, but the destruction of Neo City is a large price to pay for the destruction of a simple Dreamlander. I mean, seriously, he's just..." Escargoon pronounced the rest of his sentence slowly and exaggeratedly articulated, "one... single... insignificant... little... Dreamlander. How hard would it be to kill him?"

"You don't know Kirby," replied Meta Knight. "If our nuclear bomb back at the base wasn't so excessively dangerous, I'd consider using that."

"Okay... Um... I'll go up top then... and get the weapons."

"Wait," asked Sasuke, "why do we need to be armed? This plan of yours doesn't seem to require the use of artillery."

"Oh, don't argue with him," interjected Captain Birdbrain. "Go get my blaster, Goonie!"

Escargoon decided to let the nickname slide.

The darkness receded from Neo City, leaving it as desolate as a ghost town.

Kirby and Chuchu arrived at Heat Top and entered via the cave-like entrance that they had used on their first visit, but this time the tunnel itself was coated with ice. Was Marx really that obsessive? Well, whatever the case, there was still enough gravel on the ground for Kirby not to slip and fall with every step.

When they got to the central room, however, a wall of ice prevented them from entering.

Kirby pressed his face up against it to see that the room inside was now solid ice. Not only that, but stuck frozen in there... was Marx. 

"What happened here?!" exclaimed Chuchu.

"I don't know," replied Kirby.

"You are currently standing," said Gooey, "in a concentrated cloud of anti-matter particles."

"The whole room ahead is solid ice!" said Kirby into the phone.

"Ah, well that would explain it," answered Gooey. "Here's my theory: The blast of light that occurred when Dark Matter was hit in the eye temporarily stunned it. Then of course all of Dark Matter's forces were stunned as well. I'm guessing that this caused Marx's body to have a seizure, during which he fired off an explosion of anti-matter particles before blasting the area around him with ice bombs."

"But why is he, like, here?" asked Chuchu.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Gooey. "He was hiding from you. He figured that you would never return here with the threat of a kaboomba explosion to deter you. I'll bet that if you look hard enough through the ice, you'll see the kaboomba in there, frozen as well. Anyway, it was a pretty good plan."

"Until now," said Kirby. "So Dark Matter now has complete possession of Marx?"

"Yes."

Chuchu was tugging at her ribbon.

"Um... What should we, like, do?" she asked.

Silence.

"Oh!" said Chuchu, clearly remembering something. "Kirby! Why couldn't Dark Matter possess you?"

"I have an answer to that," said Gooey. "It seems that Kirby has enough of the star rod in him to keep Dark Matter out. He only needs one more shard and it's currently frozen in the ice in front of you. I'm sorry to say this, but Marx must be released."

"Or destroyed," said Kirby, summoning Needle and Stone abilities to become Drill Kirby! "I'll drill right through his skull!"

With whirring, scraping, crunching noises, Kirby bore into the ice.

"Yo, kaboomba dude! You need ta, like, go boom... an' all when ya, like, see... Kirby. Yeah... make a tubular explosion, dude."

Chuchu watched as Kirby disappeared into a cloud of ice and dust. The loud noise of the drilling against the shattering ice was almost unbearable.

After about eight seconds, however, Kirby came running out of the ice tunnel he had created. 

"Run!!!" he yelled as he took off down the hall. "The kaboomba's about to explode!!!"

Chuchu's eyes widened and she chased after Kirby.

There was a rumbling, shattering noise behind them and Chuchu looked back to see an avalanche of sharp ice flowing toward them in the tunnel.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed, still running.

Kirby joined in the screaming, his feet carrying him as fast as they possibly could.

Chuchu began to feel stinging pain on her back as the glass-like shards of ice stuck in her. She knew that if she stopped, she would be crushed.

The whole volcano was shaking now. 

The tunnel twisted and turned. Every time it did so, there was the fear of not turning fast enough.

Run, run, run, run, RUN!

Chuchu bumped into Kirby, who was, for some reason, wearing a pair of goggles.

"Hold on tight!" said Fan Kirby, activating the ability that he had summoned moments before.

The gigantic fan once again appeared on Kirby's back. Then it whirred to life, shooting Kirby and Chuchu through the ice tunnel at an insane speed.

Chuchu sat on Kirby's head, grasping it as hard as she could with her tentacles.

Suddenly, they were out.

"There you have it!" said Meta Knight triumphantly as the Meta Clan watched Heat Top erupt in an explosion of smoke and fire. "My previous plans against Kirby may not have worked, but this one couldn't have been more successful."

"It was just a bit much," murmured Meta Axe and Escargoon together.

"Sounds good to me," said the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General. He then added, "Are we winning?"

"Against Kirby," replied Meta Knight, still watching the lava as it flowed towards Neo City," we have wo-" Meta Knight cut himself off, looking at the base of Heat Top's other side. "Hold it!" he shouted. "Kirby and Chuchu are right down there!!!"

"Hoo-hah!" cheered Captain Birdbrain, aiming his blaster out the window. "Targets! Gahahahahahahahaha!"

"Wow," said Chuchu. "That was... intense."

"Yeah," said Kirby, who had already trashed his ability.

_Pzz!_

A red beam of light had just struck the ground next to Kirby, leaving a blackened burn mark where it hit.

"What the..." said Kirby. He then looked up to the arsenal ship and Captain Birdbrain leaning out the window, aiming to take another shot. 

Kirby rolled over just in time.

_Pzz!_

A second red beam of light struck the ground right in the center of where he had been sitting. 

Then, in another explosion, Marx burst flaming out of the top of Heat Top. The lava hadn't killed him, but his entire body was on fire.

"Get us warpstars, Gooey!" shouted Chuchu.

"Okay!" replied Gooey. "Now, Kirby..." he continued.

_Pzz!_

Kirby had dodged another shot.

"What?!" asked Kirby frantically.

"If you'd just listen, I'll tell you" said Gooey. _Pzz!_ "Kirby, there's lava pouring down the side of Heat Top that is opposite the one you are on. If that stuff gets-" _Pzz!_ "-to Neo City, the whole place will be-" _Pzz!_ "-destroyed. The only way to stop this is to power up Ice plus Plasma all-" _Pzz!_ "-the way and unleash a blizzard. Chuchu can tail Marx on this warpstar while-"_ Pzz!_ "-you're at it."

A single warpstar arrived. Chuchu got on it and streaked off toward Marx with a yell of, "I'll get him for you, Kirby!"

_Pzz!_

"See you soon!" replied Kirby, summoning Plasma and Ice abilities to become Hyper-Ice Kirby! He then suffered a shot in the foot from Captain Birdbrain's blaster and shrieked as he toppled over. It really burned!

Escargoon now appeared on top of the arsenal ship. He wore an aiming mechanism over one eye and carried a missile launcher.

Kirby ran behind a rock and concentrated on the glowing icicles on his head. (The only difference between the Ice Kirby hat and the Hyper-Ice Kirby hat is that the icicles on the latter glow. This is the case with almost all Hyper/normal hats.) Kirby then felt a wave of cold sweep over him. He shivered and knew that he had charged up for the first time out of the necessary four.

_Pzz!_

_KABOOM!_

The rock was blasted apart by a missile that had been sent Kirby's way by Escargoon and the shrapnel seared Kirby's back.

Kirby ran for cover again.

"I have estimated the time until the lava reaches Neo City and starts a fire," said Gooey. "You have approximately ninety seconds!"

Meta Knight watched the rock get destroyed by Escargoon's missile launcher.

_Well, this is working,_ thought Meta Knight. _We can just sit here and fire at Kirby long-range._

"Sasuke," said Meta Knight, "man the ship's lasers! Fire at Kirby as well!"

Marx was flailing about in the air, blinded by the smoke and fire all around him. But as Chuchu flew up to him, he sped off northwestward.

"Oh no you don't!" called Chuchu after him as she began the chase.

Kirby dived behind another rock to avoid the subsequent explosion of another missile, which blasted a small crater in the ground a few yards away.

Kirby focused on his Ice and once again felt the chill that signified another successful charging up.

Kirby got up and quickly ran away from his hiding place. This was a smart move, because that rock was then destroyed by a missile, just like the first.

_Pzz!_

Another blaster shot narrowly missed Kirby. It struck right in front of him and he swerved to the left.

_Prrrrziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..._

Kirby hid under a crevice in the side of a boulder and watched a new bright red continuous laser slice by. He instantly knew it must have been the ship's guns. This noise didn't stop.

_Pzz!_

Kirby focused. Charge 3! Only one more to go!

_KABOOM!_

The boulder didn't even budge against the explosion.

"Thirty seconds!" shouted Gooey.

"I got it!" shouted Kirby back, charging up for the forth and final time.

Kirby jumped out of the crevice and ran towards the other side of Heat Top.

"Kirby's getting away!" shouted Meta Knight. "Follow him!"

Captain Birdbrain ducked back inside the ship and grabbed the controls. 

The arsenal ship jerked forward, following Kirby.

Escargoon fired another missile, which missed due to the abrupt movement of the ship.

The laser beam that Sasuke was continuously firing seemed to be catching up to Kirby. In just a few seconds they might hit him dead-on.

But then...

"Is it getting cold in here or is it just me?" asked Meta Blade.

"I daresay it isn't just you," answered Sasuke. "The temperature does seem to be dropping."

"Oh, man!" said Escargoon, reentering the ship. "It's _freezing_ out there! What kind of volcano _is_ this? 'Cause I know chemistry and that stuff can_not_ be lava if it's making us this cold."

"What's going on?!" said Yamikage angrily, rubbing his arms.

"Now it's even _colder_," hissed Meta Lance. "Stupid cold lava!"

"There is no false lava," interrupted Silver Kibble, pointing down out the window. "Kirby is the perpetrator."

In case you hadn't already guessed it, Kirby had activated his ability.

A hazy white orb of condensing water had surrounded Kirby as his body temperature dropped very rapidly. Everything he touched froze solid.

Kirby continued to run, absorbing every iota of heat in the vicinity of Heat Top. And yet his temperature never slowed in its nose-dive.

The lasers on the arsenal ship stopped firing. The cold weather was causing them to malfunction.

"Turn the ship around, Captain!" shouted Meta Knight, his breath creating a vapor cloud that issued out the sides of his mask. "If this cold gets any worse, we're sure to go down with it!"

"Yes, Sir!" replied Captain Birdbrain, whose feathers had developed a light coating of frost.

Kirby felt himself contracting, shrinking, as all objects do when they get cold. He finally stopped running and collapsed on the ground. He was only a miniscule fraction of his size now... and his body temperature was approaching absolute zero.

"You're not getting away this time, Marx!" shouted Chuchu as she sped after the flaming monster. "You're mine now!"

_Flump._

Chuchu had chased Marx right into the middle of a cloud. They were now in Cloudy Park, the unstable aerial landscape east of Grape Garden.

_Ploof._

Chuchu emerged soaking wet from the moisture in the cloud.

"Where aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare you, Maaaaaaaarx," she cooed.

"Marx is not here," said Marx's voice from the clouds. "It is I, Dark Matter! And now that Marx's body is under my complete possession..." Marx surfaced (burnt but unhurt) from the cloud, which had extinguished the flames. "...I shall make you wish you had never been born!"

"Kirby! Wake up! You did it! It's over!"

Kirby opened his eyes. He still had the Hyper-Ice ability, but his body temperature had returned to normal.

"The lava is frozen into rock! You saved Neo City!"

Kirby noticed that there was a warpstar with a maximum tomato on it hovering nearby. Kirby quickly ate the cargo, thanked Gooey, and had a look at the results of his attack.

Hyper-Ice Kirby transformed back into regular Kirby as he viewed the odd rock formation from the air.

The blizzard had turned every bit of lava into solid rock.

"So," said Kirby energetically, "where's Chuchu? She may need my help getting the star rod shard from Marx."

"Well, she's..." began Gooey, but then he stopped.

"She's..." he tried again.

Silence.

"Uh-oh," finished Gooey.

"What?" said Kirby. "Where is she?"

"I... don't... know..." said Gooey tentatively.

"WHAT?!"

"The anti-matter particle trail is gone and my sensors aren't strong enough to locate octopi."

"B-but," stammered Kirby, "can't you see where Marx is or something?"

"No," replied Gooey. "You remember. I only found him in Heat Top because he had let off an explosion of anti-matter particles."

"Isn't there _anything_ you can do?! What if Chuchu's being murdered by Marx?! There'd be nothing I could do to help her!!!"

"Oh, uh, ah, mm... eh... I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!"

It was the first time since the very beginning of Kirby's adventure that Gooey had burst like that.

The arsenal ship landed in Yogurt Yard.

"I can't believe it!" roared Meta Knight. "We were so close!!!"

"Well, at least Neo City wasn't destroyed," commented Escargoon.

"Sounds good to me," agreed the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"Shut up," growled Meta Knight, fuming. "It's a good thing I have backup plans."

Silence.

"Aw man," said Meta Drone randomly, "it looks like plans C and D failed, dudes." Okay, maybe it wasn't so random.

Silence.

"Well, he's still Meta Drone," said Meta Axe.


	69. Black Paint

**Chapter 69: Black Paint**

"Dark Matter, I have a request."

"Yes? I'm listening."

"You don't really need me anymore, do you?"

"What's your point?"

"Well, I'd really like to go..."

"Go where?"

"Go play pinball."

"Pinball?"

"Indeed, pinball. The other side of Pop Star is one gigantic pinball table! I could use this red gem in my necklace to play. Like I said, Dark Matter, you don't really need my help anymore. You've already conquered this planet and are beginning to envelop it. Now that I am once again my former self, I'd really like to do something other than scouting for you."

"Oh, very well, Nightmare. You can go. With all this new power, I guess I _will_ be able to possess the universe without you."

"Exactly. Heh, heh. Well, I'm off. And, by the way, congratulations. This is the moment you've always dreamed of."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh! No! No, I didn't mean that!"

"How dare you speak of dreams in front of me! You, who have been with me since the beginning!"

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!"

"Go! Go play your pinball! Get out of my sight!"

"Yes, Master. Sorry, Master."

As Nightmare fled, he made a single glance backward at King Dedede's silhouette against the red-and-gold sky. It was trembling slightly... with deep anger... or sadness.

The sun was setting and Gooey still couldn't locate Marx or Chuchu.

Kirby was flying south in what he hoped was their general direction. Maybe Marx had flown to Ice Cream Island (which is just off the southern coast of Dreamland's main continent). It was worth a shot.

Little did he know that Marx and Chuchu had actually flown northwest to Grape Garden.

"Escargoon," inquired Meta Knight, "just how much equipment do you have in that cargo car up there?"

"More than you could possibly imagine fitting in there," answered Escargoon.

"Would you happen to have the materials needed to synthesize Dark Matter essence?" 

"Probably. Why?"

"I've seen what that stuff does to warpstars. On contact, it makes them disintegrate, dissolve, melt, and sometimes explode. It's the perfect weapon for depriving Kirby of transportation and hurting him on the way."

Escargoon grinned, showing all his teeth (something he only did when he grinned). "I take it this is another plan. I'll get right on it."

"And also," continued Meta Knight, "I want you to coat this ship with the Dark Matter essence as well. It will protect us from possession if we ever have to fly through a cloud of the stuff; plus, well, it would be an interesting look for the ship." Meta Knight sounded a bit embarrassed when he said the last part. He didn't want to give the impression that a powerful leader like himself would care so much about looks.

"You got it."

"Kirby!" said Gooey suddenly. "I'm picking up an anomaly in Cloudy Park! It may be a sign as to where Chuchu is located."

"But, Gooey," replied Kirby, "aren't I headed in her direction?"

"Ah, no. I suppose not."

"How do you know that this is Chuchu and not something else?"

"Well, what else could it be? The anomaly consists of some sort of liquid-like substance that jams my scanners when I try to focus on it. Such a 'liquid' would be an ingenious trick when trying to escape from someone."

"Okay, fine," relented Kirby, turning his warpstar around. "I'll go check it out."

"Ha-_ha_!" cheered Chuchu semi-triumphantly. "I got ya, Marx!"

Marx's face had been covered in black ink and now he writhed dangerously in the air. 

"No! I'm blind!" shrieked Marx. "What have you done to me?! Only squid can do that!!!"

Chuchu reached up and refastened her bow. 

"You have been coated with the specially modified ink that I keep in a capsule in my ribbon," she explained. "Now that you have been hit with this emergency-use fluid, your eyesight will not return for quite a while."

Marx stopped his writhing and grimaced.

"Oh, you annoying little octopus! You have forced me to r-" He stopped mid-sentence.

Silence. Chuchu noticed that Marx seemed to be sensing something, some presence that must have been linked to Dark Matter.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Chuchu," said Marx, grinning behind the black on his face, "but why don't you have a look to your right?"

Chuchu looked to her right and saw a gigantic cloud of Dark Matter essence rolling towards her. This black cloud stretched as far as she could see into the distance, covering the land like the ink on Marx's face, streaking through the valleys and poisoning those clouds that were still white.

"All of Pop Star will soon be covered with it," continued Marx. "Your will shall be mine again."

Kirby's eyes widened.

"You're sure you want me to fly through this?" he asked Gooey timidly.

"You have no choice, Kirby," explained Gooey. "Soon Pop Star will be blacker than space because of all the Dark Matter essence on it. Remember, you're immune to Dark Matter's possessive power. Just go for it!"

"But, I won't be able to see!"

"Of course you will. That stuff's just like fog. You know how you can still see a ways in front of you when it's foggy. Come on! Go! You're wasting time!"

"Okay..."

Kirby flew slowly towards the cloud. 

Suddenly, he was inside. 

Kirby's first thought was that the air felt polluted and dirty inside the Dark Cloud. His second was that Gooey couldn't have been more wrong about it being "just like fog."

He could see just fine, but was he saw wasn't pretty. The sky had been dyed a blood red and everything else had a dark tint to it. The grass far below was forest green. The usually tan rocks of Yogurt Yard now had the color of mud. Not only that, but he couldn't see any smoky wall where he had come in. From his perspective it looked like the whole universe had been taken.

Then, even though he wasn't moving, he could see that he was slowly descending. Soon he could feel it too. He looked down at his warpstar and saw to his horror that it was slowly melting under his feet.

With a shriek, he jumped off and inflated. After landing on the grass below and exhaling, he watched the warpstar's speed of descent increase by the second. Then it began to bubble. Soon the whole thing was nothing more than as sizzling, bubbling, steaming puddle of goo on the ground. 

Kirby was now officially freaked out. He made a dash past the melted warpstar towards where he had come in.

Suddenly, he was outside.

He had passed back through some sort of invisible barrier that separated the untainted world from the Dark Cloud and he could see it rolling once more behind him. Everything was normal again.

But he was soon re-engulfed. The Dark Cloud had not ceased to expand and now Kirby felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. The bright, lovely world he had always known had disappeared before his very eyes.

"Sir Meta Knight, should I proceed through this rolling dark cloud?"

"Yes, Captain. Escargoon has already coated our ship with a protective layer specially designed to keep us safe inside Dark Matter essence."

"You got it!"

"Captain! Hold a minute!" interrupted Meta Axe. "This Dark Matter essence is more than just a _cloud_! This blackness is what's covering Pop Star! Once we're inside it, we won't be able to exit the ship. Plus, if there is ever even a slight breach in the ship, we will all become possessed. Are you sure you're willing to risk it?"

Meta Knight did not hesitate to answer. "Yes," was all he said.

"Well, then let's go!" cheered the Captain and before anyone could react, he had flown the ship into the Dark Cloud.

Silence.

One by one the members of the Meta Clan expressed their awe at the new landscape, filling the ship with low murmurs and whistles.

"Wow..." "Oh, my..." "That's not right..." "Whoa..." "What happened?"

Even Meta Drone spoke, but his reaction was not the "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude" that had been expected.

"Aw, man," he said. "Plan E sorta failed, dudes."

"What?" asked Meta Knight.

"Well, you were gonna, like, blast... Kirby with, like, Dark Matter stuff an' all to make his warpstar do the, like, radical explody... thing. That sorta kinda didn' quite really work, dude. 'Cause we're already, like, in it... I mean the stuff... and Kirby'll not be cruisin' on warpstars in here. Yeah... it doesn't, like, matter now. Ya know... with Dark Matter possessin' the whole planet an' all... Kirby'll never, like, ride warpstars again. It's kinda okay... but still a bummer, dude. Yeah... Major bummer..."

Silence.

"Uh, dudes?"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE JUST LET HIM DELIVER THAT ENTIRE SPEECH!" shouted Meta Sword suddenly.

"Can't Escargoon fix him?" whimpered Meta Blade.

"I can't do that!" said Escargoon even more shakily than usual. "My fields are hardware, chemistry and psychology!"

"We know! We know!" groaned Captain Birdbrain.

"Why won't psychology work?" hissed Meta Lance, his mask leaking tear water. "Can't you teach him to be less annoying?"

"Sou--s -oo- to -e," put in the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General. His voice was muffled because he had hidden inside his helmet.

"That wouldn't work," said Meta Axe, who always seemed to be the first to recover from the effects of Meta Drone's voice. "Psychology has no effect on programming."

"There gotta be _something _we can do!" moaned Meta Chain and Big Wheelie together.

"Such... horrendous... damage... is not easily... repaired," said Silver Kibble with effort. His helmet was still vibrating.

Yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, who no longer looked remotely happy, swore loudly.

Silence. Yamikage remained motionless with just his left eye twitching. Sasuke had his eyes locked on the red heavens; he seemed to be praying. 

"Voice... baaaaaaaaaaaad," sobbed Dekabu.

"I'm sorry, Kirby, but you're going to have to continue on foot. Chuchu's out there and you've got to get to her. In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can develop a warpstar which won't be affected by Dark Matter."

"No! I can't go all that way just by walking! It's way too far!"

"Well, maybe one of your abilities can help. Let's see... Ah! I have an idea! Try Sculpture ability. It's Stone plus Cutter."

"How would that help?"

"It allows you to transform. My idea is that you sculpt yourself into a wheel. That'll get you going!"

"Okay, I'll try it."

Kirby summoned Stone and Cutter abilities to become Sculpture Kirby! Instead of getting a hat, Kirby then became a cube of rock, which immediately began shaving off pieces of itself until it had the shape of a tire.

Wasting no time, Kirby shot forward, speeding off through the Dark Cloud.

"All scanners are still operational?"

"Yeah, dude. They're, like, s-"

"Shut up, Meta Drone! Oh, this is stupid. Escargoon! I am placing you in charge of the ships functions."

"But Sir Meta Knight, I'm already handling the entire cargo car above us! Don't you think there might just be someone else for this job? I mean, I know I impress you, but I can't be in two places at once."

Meta Knight looked around.

"If this ship was alive," said Yamikage, "I would be able to train it easily, but that is unfortunately not the case."

"I could try my hand at it," said Meta Axe hesitantly.

"Very well, Meta Axe," replied Meta Knight. "I shall consult you from now on. Position yourself over there by the radar controls."

"Yes, Sir." Meta Axe moved over to the right of Sasuke. "Oh, by the way. This little blip on the radar screen... Do you have any idea what it is? I always thought that that color meant 'cold' or 'stone', but that can't be right because nothing that isn't living could be traveling at that speed. Maybe I'm not the right person for this job."

Sasuke glanced over and a look of puzzlement crossed his face. 

"I don't understand it either," he said. "According to the scanners, what we're looking at is a very fast... rock. But there are no hills where it's rolling."

"It must be Kirby!" shouted Meta Knight. "He must have transformed int-"

"Whoa, there, Meta Knight," interrupted Meta Sword. "Not every abnormality is a sign of Kirby."

"Why not?! That little pest is everywhere!"

The rest of the Meta Clan exchanged glances.

"Set a course, Captain," continued Meta Knight. "for Wheel Kirby!"

"Stone Wheel Kirby, Sir Meta Knight," replied Captain Birdbrain.

"Just go!!!"

"Okay, okay!"

"No," said Chuchu, backing away. "No, not again."

"Good-bye, Chuchu," said Marx. "You're efforts to separate me from the last remaining star rod shard have not succeeded. The shard will be safe with me forever, inside this Dark Cloud. You shall never possess it, but I will soon possess you!"

Chuchu began to run. Her warpstar had been earlier destroyed.

Marx couldn't see what she was doing because of the ink on his face, but he still guessed that Chuchu was running...

"You can't run from me, Chuchu! No matter where you go, my Dark Cloud will be there soon enough! This whole planet will be under my control!"

"Not while I'm around, Marx!" shouted Chuchu defiantly as she began running back toward Marx as fast as she could.

"Wait," faltered Marx. "What are you doing? Where are you? I can't see!"

"Right here!" yelled Chuchu, her speed reaching a sufficient level. 

Chuchu jumped... smashed with a full-body slam right into Marx's face... and then stuck tight.

"No!!!" screamed Marx as Chuchu wrapped her tentacles around his body. "Get off!"

Marx swiped at Chuchu with his floating hands, but Chuchu removed two of her tentacles from his body and snatched the hands out of the air, crushing them.

Marx then tried every attack he (well, Dark Matter actually) could think of. He fired the arrows from his wings (miss), he fired the razor-blades from his wings (miss), he attempted to inhale for an ice bomb or an air blast (Chuchu was over his mouth preventing him from doing so), he even spun around a couple times but couldn't get enough momentum to release the seeds.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" he yelled.

Chuchu squeezed harder and harder with her tentacles as Marx flailed about. 

"Oh... you... annoying... octopus," grunted Marx. "If only you hadn't hit me with that ink! Then I'd be able to see where the Dark Cloud is! Diving in _there_ should get you off my face!"

Marx began flying around with violent erratic movements, seemingly trying to locate the Dark Cloud.

Chuchu, meanwhile, squeezed even harder, trying to break Marx's skull before he managed to get inside the Dark Cloud.

But then they went in. Chuchu's body spasmed slightly as she felt Dark Matter invade her mind. But the Dark Matter concentration in the Cloud wasn't thick enough to possess her instantly and she fought back mentally with all her might.

"There's no way out now, Chuchu," said Marx. "Fight it all you want, but I've got you right where I want you."

Chuchu choked and gagged as Dark Matter tried to sicken her mentally into letting go of the fight. Instead, she let go of Marx's face, causing her to fall.

Chuchu's reflexes took over and she waved her tentacles madly to regain her grip on Marx. 

One of Chuchu's tentacles knocked off Marx's jester's hat.

This revealed two things. One: Marx's shiny light-purple head was completely bald. And two: he had been hiding the last star rod shard under his hat.

"Ah-ha!" shouted Chuchu with joy, momentarily banishing Dark Matter from her mind. Then, before Chuchu could close her mouth again, the shard had fallen into it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" shrieked Marx.

Chuchu swallowed automatically a split-second before...

_Whump!_

...she landed in a cloud. (They were, after all, in Cloudy Park.)

"Thar she rolls!" crooned Captain Birdbrain on sighting "Stone Wheel Kirby".

"Perfect," said Meta Knight. "Now, Sasuke; use this ship's lasers to direct Kirby toward that lake in the distance."

"What is your plan, Sir?" asked Meta Axe.

"Yes," put in Meta Lance. "How is allowing Kirby to hide underwater going to help us?"

"Escargoon," called Meta Knight. "Thank you for the list of weapons you gave me. Are you sure every one of these are in the cargo car?"

"Positive," answered Escargoon.

"Excellent. In that case, I will need three of the electric depth charges."

"I knew those would come in handy at some point!" cheered Escargoon. "I'll go get them."

"Electric depth charges?" questioned Meta Blade.

"Yes," explained Meta Knight. "Once dropped in water, they emit a violent surge of electricity into their surroundings. It's much like what Meta Drone can do, just more powerful. Powerful enough to destroy all life in that little lake."

"Kirby is headed straight for the lake, Sir," announced Sasuke.

"Meta Chain! Poppy! Escargoon!" said Meta Knight quickly. "We must waste no time. You each take a depth charge and get ready to throw right when Kirby reaches the lake. We need to get him while he's under."

_Darn lasers!_ thought Kirby. _Don't they ever give up?_

"Have you ever skipped stones on water, Kirby?" asked Gooey, interrupting Kirby's thoughts with a seemingly random question.

"Sure I have," replied Kirby, unable to figure out how he could still speak without a mouth. "Why?"

"Speed up, Kirby," said Gooey. "Get going as fast as you can. This is very important."

"Ready..." said Meta Knight as the arsenal ship hovered over the lake. "Throw!"

Meta Chain, yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior and Escargoon all tossed their depth charges at once.

"What?!" exclaimed Meta Knight. "How can he- Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

"Whoa... Plan F failed too, dudes," said Meta Drone.

Kirby had sped up fast enough. He now moved so fast that, when he got to the lake, he drove right over the water, just skimming the top. 

The depth charges splashed in and activated behind him, but he was already back on dry land!

_Oh,_ thought Kirby._ Skipping stones... Now I get it! _

"Darn it!" shouted Meta Knight. "How can a stone travel over water without sinking?!"

"Haven't you ever skipped stones, Meta Knight?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh, shut up!"

"Wow," said Meta Axe, looking down at the lake. "The fish are all dead."

The lake's surface was now pockmarked with the bodies of dead fish.

"It's just like when lightning strikes a pond," he finished.

"Kirby might have been floating among those fish had this plan succeeded," said Yamikage.

"Oh, well," said Meta Knight dejectedly. "There's always plan G."

"What does _that_ involve?" hissed Meta Lance.

"I'll tell you later."


	70. The Chase is On

**Chapter 70: The Chase is On**

"Congratulations, Star Warrior, you have assembled all seven pieces of the star rod. Now you can summon the Great Star Rod of Light at will. But be careful, Star Warrior. As the star rod shards are the source of your powers, you will lose them when the Great Star Rod of Light is summoned. You must once again consume the star rod for your powers to return. Your quest is nearing an end and the final confrontation is imminent. May you shine forth like a star."

Chuchu gasped for breath. For her, the air inside the Dark Cloud felt unnaturally thick. With intense effort, she managed to propel herself out.

The instant she exited the Dark Cloud, she took off running. She didn't what to be enveloped again.

_I can't believe it,_ thought Chuchu as she ran. _All the times that voice spoke to Kirby... it was just a recording!_ Chuchu laughed.

****

Capped Mountain loomed in front of Kirby. He would need to scale it to get to Cloudy Park.

Capped Mountain gets its name from the fact that its peak is always white (grey in the Dark Cloud) with snow, while the rest of its body always remained nothing but tan-colored (mud-colored in the Dark Cloud) rock.

Scaling this mountain was the only way to get to Cloudy Park. Then, you had to travel up the six levels (stories, floors, whatever) of Cloudy Park to get to the highest marginally stable environment in Dreamland: Bubbly Clouds.

The early Dreamlanders had long ago set up mines in Bubbly Clouds. Now, you may think it absurd to say that a mine could be put in a cloud, let alone at such a high altitude. But, the real truth of the matter is the clouds of Bubbly Clouds have special properties. As the clouds undulate, they sometimes mix certain chemicals in the air to create fine jewels. The mines were set up to extract the gems from the clouds. It was no easy task to get all the way up to Bubbly Clouds, but well worth it, as the gems were highly conductive and became used almost exclusively in the machines that were eventually sealed in the dungeons of Castle Dedede. The mines, however, no longer exist. Their end came when the mine disturbed the manner in which the cloud moved. The wrong chemicals started getting mixed, creating batches of unstable jewels, which exploded when "dug" out, destroying the eastern-most region of Bubbly Clouds and every Dreamlander that was working there at the time.

And so, Kirby began to climb.

****

_No!_ thought Dark Matter. _Oh, that annoying octopus! Now that she has a piece of the star rod, I won't be able to possess her, just like Kirby! But, then again, the power of one shard isn't enough to make her fully immune to the poisonous effects of my Dark Cloud. Marx must be healed of his blindness! Then I will surely be able to trap Chuchu once and for all! And besides, while the shard resides in Chuchu's body, Kirby will never be able to retrieve it!_

****

"I have located Kirby, Sir," said Meta Axe, who was starting to get a feel for controlling the ship's scanners. "He is currently climbing Capped Mountain."

"Now will you tell us your plan?" hissed Meta Lance at Meta Knight.

"Very well," relented Meta Knight. "We are to monitor Kirby's progress and try to discern some sort of recurring action, something Kirby does frequently during his travels that we might be able to exploit. It could be a habit or routine or just something he repeats every so often."

"That's it?" said Sasuke. "That's your plan? In all its entirety?"

"That is it."

****

Capped Mountain isn't one of the tallest peaks in Dreamland. Nor is it one of the steepest. Kirby flew some of the way, but there were many places where he could walk or climb more quickly. After all, he couldn't fly forever.

There were some Dreamlanders, however, that could fly (inflated and without touching the ground) for amazingly long periods of time. The record is two days. Dreamlanders would occasionally organize it as a sport, with prizes for those who could hold out the longest. Kirby had never participated in any of these. He could only fly for two hours max.

Anyway, Kirby reached the top without incident.

"Kirby," said Gooey, "the anomaly is located on the southeast end of level four. You got that? Know how to get there?"

"Yeah," replied Kirby. "Hold on Gooey. I just spotted something familiar."

"What?" asked Gooey. "What did you spot?"

"Heh, heh. Those little blue Poppy Brothers sure held up their end of the deal."

The thing Kirby had spotted... was a Warp Cannon.

"I haven't used one of these in what seems like ages," he told Gooey after saying what it was.

"Well, you might as well try it out," replied Gooey. "I'll hold for a minute."

Kirby lit the fuse with the torch and hopped inside. There was a bang and then Kirby found himself in another cloud bubble filled with food.

_Wow,_ thought Kirby. _It's been a while since I last had a decent meal. I'd better savor this. Inhaling food doesn't allow me to taste it at all._

Kirby began to eat.

****

"Uh-oh," said Meta Axe. "Um, Sir, Kirby has disappeared off my scanners."

"What?" replied Meta Knight.

"I don't get it. He just... vanished."

"Did anything significant happen just before he disappeared."

"Well, there was a small, traveling heat source, detected by the thermo scanners, followed by a short hot blast."

"A cannon," concluded Meta Knight.

"Ah," concurred Sasuke. "That would explain it."

"A cannon, Sir?" asked Meta Axe.

"Yes, a cannon." Meta Knight explained. "The first sign of heat was the lit fuse and the blast was the shot."

"But how did Kirby disappear?"

"Wait a minute," interrupted yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior.

"You have information on this, Poppy?" asked Meta Knight. "Please tell us."

"Yeah..." continued yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior. "One of my two twin brothers... he made something like this. He called it a... um... Oh, I know I'll think of it. You remember my brothers, right? I don't think I've ever really told you much about them." The Meta Clan had never seen him this pensive. "We were each given special garments at birth. Each one of us got a different primary color. Mine was yellow. My brothers got blue and red. We were each blessed with the three types of happiness. Mine was glee. My blue-suited brother got exhilaration and my red-suited brother got delight. I was still young when red Poppy left. I don't know where he went and I haven't seen him since. It was soon after that that Owtrebmun, a good friend of the family, bestowed on us, or the two of us that were left, the ability to make miniature copies of ourselves that would do our bidding."

"I had always wondered where they all came from," interrupted Meta Sword. "But why don't you do that all the time? Dekabu produces plenty Kabus everyday."

"This duplication process can only be performed once every three years," explained yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior. "Well anyway, we began calling ourselves the 'Seniors' and our duplicates the 'Juniors'. The names just stuck. But then my brother, with the passion of exhilaration, began treating his Juniors very poorly, reducing them to slaves, instead of playing with them and taking care of them like I did mine. They wanted to kill him, but they were bound by some inexplicable magic to follow his orders. I started getting in fights with my brother. Luckily we both had the sense not to allow our Juniors to fight each other, but we did not have the sense not to devise more evil ways to kill each other. Then, by some strange coincidence, we both discovered combustible powder on the same day. We began to manufacture explosives, but his rate of production was much faster, for he ruthlessly used his Juniors to make more bombs, more TNT, more rigs." The Meta Clan had never seen him this close to tears. "He got carried away. He rigged Butter Building, the whole thing, with a self-destruct mechanism. And then he set up Warp Can- Warp Cannons! That's the name! He set up the Warp Cannons to take his Juniors to undetectable strongholds in the clouds, which were stuffed with food to sustain them if they had to retreat during a war between us. But we never actually used our explosives to fight each other. I gave up trying to make him see reason and decided to put my explosive skills to good use. Well, you know what happened after that. I joined the Meta Army. Now that I finally look back on all of this, I realize he wasn't actually that good of a fighter. He had so much ambition, so much drive, but in the end... I know for a fact that he was in Butter Building when the self-destruct was activated."

Silence.

"Well, that was fascinating, Poppy," said Meta Knight, "but we didn't ask for your life story. Warp Cannons you say? Yes, it fits. Do you think it might be possible for us to stock up on food using them?"

"Nope," answered yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior. "Only someone who has been specially designated an ally of my brother by him or his Juniors can use the Warp Cannons. If anyone else tries, they will be shot out as if it were a normal cannon."

"Well, Kirby's still off the map," said Meta Axe. "Is he one of your brother's allies?"

"He must be. Either that or he did some sort of favor for the freed Juniors. Or maybe... he was the one that activated the self-destruction. Then the Juniors would have allowed him to use the Warp Cannons out of gratitude."

"Indeed a logical explanation," put in Silver Kibble.

"In that case," said Meta Knight. "I have an idea."

****

_Wow..._ thought Kirby as he finished off the food. _That... was... good..._

But then Kirby noticed something else in the cloud. It was disk-shaped and had a blue "stem" coming out of one of its edges. The circular part was sparkly and white, featuring a pink spiral in the center of its flat part.

Kirby picked it up by the "stem". If he had a nose, he would have sniffed it.

Kirby exited the bubble and called Gooey. He took a picture of the thing and asked Gooey what it was.

"Well, it's a lollipop," said Gooey. "The circular part on top is edible."

"Really? I've never heard of a lollipop before."

"They are a form of candy made mostly of sugar. Very tasty. Are you going to eat it or not?"

"I don't know. I've never seen food sparkle before. And what are 'candy' and 'sugar'?"

"I suppose you don't have candy here. Hmm... Maybe the high sugar content in it has an adverse effect on Dreamlanders. Yes, that's it. Such a thick sugar concentration would probably accelerate bodily functions and convert you to an abnormally acute energetic state."

"Huh?"

"Don't eat it."

"Okay."

Kirby left the lollipop on the cloud he was standing on and then walked away.

****

_Ah,_ thought Dark Matter. _So Kirby has made his way to Cloudy Park. Well, he'll be in for a rather unpleasant surprise._

****

Kirby summoned (randomly) Fire and Parasol abilities to become Flaming Parasol Kirby! As with any Parasol ability, Kirby held a parasol over his head, and now it lit on fire.

Kirby was surrounded by enemies. The Dark Cloud had put them under Dark Matter's possession.

"Alright, Dark Matter," said Kirby. "You'd better learn not to mess with me!"

Kirby ran at a waddle doo, whacking it with his parasol in an explosion of fire. Four birdons tried to slice Kirby from behind, but Kirby swung his parasol around, creating an arc of flames that torched the quartet. A mopoo appeared out of nowhere and tackled Kirby in the face. Then a bronto burt did the same. Kirby flipped over and twirled the parasol above his head, sending streams of flame spewing in all directions.

Most of the enemies were destroyed, but mopoos live inside the clouds. Three more of them tried to tackle Kirby, but he quickly covered himself with the parasol, becoming a ball of fire that incinerated the mopoos.

A pacto lumbered onto the cloud along with two sparkys and a swarm of pterans.

The pacto lunged at Kirby, who dodged. Pactos can eat anything, including fireballs. Kirby tried twirling the parasol again, but a sparky zapped him before he could do so. Then he felt sharp stabs as the pterans, flying in formation, all dive-bombed him.

Kirby smashed his parasol on the sparky. Then he held up the parasol and inverted the canopy, sending a swirling ball of fire flying at the pteran squadron, which exploded on contact with one of them.

Among the flaming pteran carcasses, the pacto lunged again. Kirby dodged, but not quite soon enough. The pacto clamped down on Kirby's foot. Kirby tried to stab it with the parasol, but the pacto flung Kirby into air, trying to toss him into its mouth.

Kirby inflated and the instant the pacto's mouth closed he shot downward at it, parasol first. The blow connected, crushing the pacto and producing an earthquake-like blast of fire. This fire also destroyed the other sparky.

****

_Blast it!_ thought Dark Matter. _This battle isn't over yet, Kirby!_

****

Kirby watched as a gigantic mopoo, easily six times the size of the others, rose out of the clouds. Accompanying it were four blue propeller bombs.

The big mopoo tried to tackle Kirby, who retracted into his parasol again. However, no fireball is enough to destroy such a huge mopoo. The big mopoo smashed into Kirby, snapping the parasol, putting out the flames, and causing Kirby to lose his ability.

The propeller bombs dived in. Kirby, still in pain, managed to dodge three of them, but one still hit him and exploded.

Kirby was staring to really hurt. He was having a tough time with these enemies. Why? Because they all thought as one.

Kirby summoned Fighter and- WHAM! Before he could summon another ability (in order to make a combo-ability), the big mopoo hit him again. Kirby became Fighter Kirby!

Kirby performed rising break on the big mopoo, smashing it upward. Then he spun in a roundhouse kick, knocking one of the propeller bombs into another. They both exploded.

The mopoo tried another tackle, but Kirby flipped backwards over it and stabbed it in the back with a comet kick.

The last propeller bomb flew at Kirby, but just before contact Kirby spun around, grabbing its underside and sending it spinning at the big mopoo.

The collision and subsequent explosion blasted the big mopoo apart.

****

"Good show!" cheered Sasuke.

"Impressive," commented Silver Kibble.

"If only he was on our side," put in Yamikage.

"That wouldn't work," said Meta Knight. "With such power as that, he might turn on us."

"He looks tired, Sir Meta Knight," said Captain Birdbrain. "Should we attack now?"

"No, Captain. Watch. Let's see what he does."

****

Without Gooey's warpstars, there was no way Kirby could get a maximum tomato after the fight. Luckily, he located another Warp Cannon on level two. After another meal, he was good as new.

****

"Yes..." murmured Meta Knight. "Time to initiate plan G." He then said out loud, "Escargoon. I once more require your mechanical skills."

Meta Knight looked around.

"Where's Escargoon?" he asked.

"He went up top," answered Meta Sword. "Said he was going to work on something in the cargo car."

"Well, get him back down here! He's needed! He can work on his own stuff later."

After Meta Sword had fetched Escargoon, Meta Knight repeated, "I once more require your mechanical skills."

"Mm-hm? For what?" replied Escargoon.

"I need you to build a Warp Cannon replica," continued Meta Knight, "which is designed to explode when activated."

"Why, Sir Meta Knight?"

"You don't get it, do you? You've been up in that cargo car so long that you've missed all our observations of Kirby's behavior. Well, we found the recurring action. Kirby frequently utilizes Warp Cannons to take him to food reserves where he replenishes health. If we put a fake one in his way, he's sure to use it. Then... KABOOM!"

"Okay. I'll get right on it."

****

Level three reached. Only one more to go. Then head southeast.

Kill mopoos. Kill sparkys. Dodge pterans. Blow 'em up. Fight this. Slice that. Grab it by the head. Now throw it at that other one. Toss bomb. Done. Oh, no. More? Summon abilities. Kill, kill, kill! Aaarrgh! When will this onslaught of enemies end?!

****

"Fake Warp Cannon completed, Sir Meta Knight!" reported Escargoon, showing it off in the middle of the ship.

"Perfect," replied Meta Knight, but then he walked over to it and looked around the base. "Where's the fuse?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, slight problem there," said Escargoon uncomfortably. "I don't have any rope that matches the kind used on the real Warp Cannons."

"Then just use a different fuse. I doubt Kirby will care."

"Uh..." Escargoon was starting to sweat slightly. "Well, I can't... Ya see, uh, I don't really have any rope... at all... in that cargo car up there."

"NO ROPE?! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY FORGET SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AND BASIC AS ROPE?!!"

"O-o-oh!" moaned Escargoon. "But, Sir Meta Knight, rope isn't necessary in anything I make! I do have an alternative, though."

"And it is?" said Meta Knight skeptically.

"I could connect the Cannon to a detonator box using timed electro-resistors. Then when Kirby pushes down the lever, he'll have a few seconds to get in the Cannon before it explodes, just as if it he had lit a fuse."

"Very well. Set the ship down, Captain. Escargoon, set up the replacement fuse. Then you, Sasuke, use the ship's air lock and mechanical arms to set the 'Warp Cannon' in position."

****

Level four... and there's another Warp Cannon. But wait. Something's wrong with this one.

"Gooey," said Kirby, "this Warp Cannon doesn't have a fuse like the rest of them."

"Well then you obviously can't use it," replied Gooey. "Without a fuse, how do you expect to set it off?"

"Maybe with this," answered Kirby, taking a picture.

"A detonator box?! No! Absolutely not! It's probably a trap."

"But Gooey, what if it isn't? I've been doing a lot of battling and I really need some food. Look, the detonator box has a flame on it. Maybe this is an improved model. No more fire hazard."

****

"Nice touch with the painted flame, Escargoon," hissed Meta Lance.

****

"Kirby, don't do it. I'm warning you."

"Gooey, I'm pressing down the handle."

Kirby pressed down the handle and walked toward the Warp Cannon.

"I'm sorry Kirby, but you have forced me to do this."

An incredibly loud, high-pitched beep emitted from the phone. Kirby fell over from shock and pain. A few seconds later, the 'Warp Cannon' exploded, blasting the vicinity with smoke, fire and shrapnel.

A plate-like piece bounced off Kirby's head. His face was covered with black soot and his eyes were wide.

"Now do you believe me it's a trap?" asked Gooey in his signature smart-alec tone of voice.

****

"No!" shouted Meta Knight. "He was so close! If only Gooey hadn't stopped him. He would have been blown to bits!"

"Bummer, dudes," said Meta Drone predictably. "Like, plan G failed too."

****

Kirby found a real Warp Cannon after a distance. There he healed his nerve-racked body and wiped the soot off his face.

After exiting, Kirby moved southeast.

Now as he traveled, he noticed an eerie lack of enemies to fight. It was as if this area of Cloudy Park was dead.

Soon he knew why.

There, surrounded by enemies...

"Marx!" gasped Kirby.

"Kirby?!" said Marx, turning around. His face was still covered with ink, which meant that he was still blind.

Kirby quickly took a picture.

"Ingenious," explained Gooey. "This is definitely Chuchu's work. This ink is what has been scrambling my scanners. This is the anomaly. She must use it to escape from foes that she cannot overcome. She can even put it on scanning devices to temporarily put them out of working condition."

"I have no time for this, Kirby," said Marx, speaking the words of Dark Matter. "Chuchu has stolen the final star rod shard from me and I must get this ink off my face! Then I will be able to get the shard back."

Kirby noticed that Marx had burn and freeze marks all over his face. Apparently the chillys and q-berts among the enemies around him had been attempting to burn and freeze the ink off.

"I have possessed minions everywhere," continued Marx. "They will know where Chuchu is, but I'll never get there if I can't see!"

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Kirby.

"So that you will go away and leave me to my ink removal business. Go seek Chuchu yourself! 'Course you'll never find her. Not even the greatest scanner in this solar system can locate one annoying octopus in all of Dreamland!"

Marx turned back around.

"What do we do?" Kirby asked Gooey. "He's right, isn't he? There's no way to find her and we have no idea where she is."

"Kirby, listen closely," replied Gooey. "Don't let Marx hear this."

Kirby pressed the phone up against his body.

"Okay," continued Gooey. "I hate to say this, but we've got to restore Marx's vision."

"WHAT?!"

"Ssh!!!" hissed Gooey. "I have a plan. Dark Matter knows where Chuchu is. So, Marx will go right there when he can see again. He said so himself. Then we follow him and keep him off Chuchu when he gets to her. You'll finally be reunited!"

Silence.

"It's the only way," finished Gooey. "We can get the ink off with acid."

"Are you telling me there's an Acid ability?" asked Kirby.

"No. But there's the next best thing. Plasma plus Parasol and charge up all the way. Four times. You remember."

"Got it."

Kirby summoned Parasol and Plasma abilities to become Hyper-Parasol Kirby! Kirby held a pure white, glowing parasol over his head. He concentrated on it. The canopy twirled 360 degrees by itself, signifying one charge. Then another twirl for the second charge. Then three! Then four!

Kirby activated the ability.

The clouds above got dark and rain started to pour.

"Whatever you do, Kirby," said Gooey. "Keep that parasol over your head. This is acid rain. Deadly."

The enemies around Marx writhed. The mopoos retreated into the clouds, leaving the rest to melt.

Marx, however, was too powerful to be affected by simple pH1. He leaned backwards, letting the acid wash all the ink off his face.

With a wicked smile, Marx turned toward Kirby.

"Nice weather we're having," he said. "It's a shame you have that parasol. Well, I wouldn't want to deprive you of the wonderful feeling that comes with the skin melting off your face!"

Marx lunged forward and crushed the canopy of the parasol in his teeth. But the instant he had done so, the rain stopped.

"No power, no rain. How convenient," said Marx sarcastically.

Kirby didn't answer. He had been scared for a moment that the acid would destroy him without the parasol.

"Well, I'm off," said Marx with a bow. "Say good-bye to your hopes of seeing Chuchu again!"

Marx shot into the distance.

"Oh, no!" shrieked Kirby. "I don't have any transportation! I'll never reach Chuchu before he does!"

A warpstar arrived at Kirby's side.

"What?" exclaimed Kirby. "How did y- You did it!"

"Yep!" said Gooey. "No more Dark Matter interference! I made it, tested it, and it works! Now go get Chuchu!"

Kirby hopped on his new Dark Matter repelling warpstar and zoomed off after Marx.


	71. Three's a Crowd

**Chapter 71: Three's a Crowd**

"Meta Lance, be quiet!" said Meta Knight firmly. "Whenever I'm ready to divulge a new plan I shall always tell you and everyone else! Besides, I was just about to say what the new one is and I don't need you to prompt me!"

"Okay, okay," snarled Meta Lance in submission.

"Plan H is simple," continued Meta Knight. "We capture Chuchu before either Kirby or Marx get to her and then use her as a hostage."

Most of the Meta Clan subsequently expressed their dismay at this plan. Chuchu was, after all, an exceptional fighter. Wouldn't capturing her be even more difficult than Kirby?

"You might think that," said Meta Knight, holding up his hand to quiet them, "but I know better. Meta Axe recorded Kirby and Marx's conversation just now. I have already listened to it. As it turns out, Chuchu has the final piece of the star rod. Therefore, Dark Matter will be unable to possess her."

"How does that help us?" asked Meta Blade.

"Let me finish, Meta Blade. As I was saying, the Dark Cloud will, however, be able to incapacitate her with its noxious power. She'll be easy to bag." Meta Knight turned toward the front of the ship. "Meta Axe, watch the radar for signs of Chuchu. Captain, follow Marx, and as soon as we have located Chuchu, make _sure_ to get to her before him. Then you, Sasuke, use the net shooter underneath the ship to grab her and the mechanical arm to load her in through the air lock."

****

****

_Hello everyone and welcome to the Race for Chuchu! This event is already underway. Don't you just _love_ the excitement!? Well, buckle your seatbelts, because_ this_ race-to-the-finish shall span the entire west side of Dreamland! _

_There they go! Speeding through Grape Garden! Marx is in the lead, followed closely by Kirby. And where are those Meta devils? Well, the arsenal ship had a late start and is already two miles behind! You'd better know what you're doing, you little metal knight, cause you're going to have to really put the pedal to the metal to win this race!_

_So, Marx and Kirby have reached the first obstacle: a storm in the middle of Grape Garden. I don't like the looks of this. If one of them gets hit by lightning, he can say good-bye to winning the race and maybe even good-bye to keeping his life! They're in! Ooh! That was close! Marx almost took one in the face. Better steer clear of those thunderbolts! You too, Kirby. _

_They're flying around and the lightning is blasting everything. Oh, my! The thunderbolts have forced Kirby to accidentally collide with Marx! Neither one looks too happy I can tell_ you_! I'm not so sure Marx knew Kirby was following him! But they'd better not stop to fight in that storm! And they don't! Close call there, folks. On with the race!_

_Has this bought enough time for the Meta Clan to catch up? I guess not! It appears that that arsenal ship is going_ around_ the storm! Better safe than sorry, I guess, but that's surely going to take time. _

_Marx and Kirby have exited the storm! They're neck-in-neck, folks! Nothing can stop them as they plow through the clouds. They must be soaked! I'm sure glad_ I_ didn't enter this race! And what's happening now? Is Marx going to attack? Yes! There he goes! He's charging up... Can Kirby dodge whatever is going to come out? Oooh! WOW! Let's watch that in an instant replay. Slow motion!_

_As you can see, Kirby clearly knows here before the blast that Marx is about to fire. He must know that deep intakes of breath signify that Marx is about to launch an ice bomb. Look at that concentration! Now Marx turns and fires... Kirby _pulls_ out of the way just in time... and the bomb goes into the cloud up above._

_What's this, folks? It looks like the bomb detonating in the cloud has caused a hailstorm the likes of which I have never seen! That has got to hurt! I wouldn't even like to _imagine_ what it must feel like to get pelted with golfball-sized hailstones. Ah, they're away from the hail. That scared me for a moment. But well, whaddya know! Both of them seem perfectly fine! Dreamlanders sure are tough to hurt. And big mutated monsters? Don't even get me started!_

_Still lagging considerably behind, the Meta Clan brings up the rear. Oh, no. It looks like this just isn't their day! Now they have to go around the hailstorm as well! _

_Now flying high over the ruins of Butter Building, Marx and Kirby are still going strong. No longer battling, both seem intent on winning the race. Both are flattening horizontally to make themselves as aerodynamic as possible! For Marx, that means flying head on! Careful now: bad vision plus high-speed flying is usually followed by crashing. _

_And the Meta Clan still isn't past the hailstorm! Can't they go any faster? They'll _never_ make it past the other two racers at_ this_ rate. I wonder what they're thinking..._

****

"That's good, Captain," said Meta Knight. "Take it slowly."

"Meta Knight," asked Captain Birdbrain. "Are you sure this is what we should do? Marx and Kirby are way ahead of us!"

"I know Captain. As soon as Meta Axe locates Chuchu on the radar, we'll make a break for her."

****

_Marx and Kirby have crossed the mountains into Sand Canyon! And it looks like a sandstorm is brewing! Man, I_ really_ wouldn't like to be in_ their_ shoes right now! This is the second obstacle. Now Kirby is tilting vertical. Why would he be doing that? Wouldn't it mess up his aerodynamics? Ooh! Now they're in! Nice foresight there, Kirby! As you can see folks, Kirby is using his warpstar as a shield against the oncoming dust. What a clever trick! Marx, however, must be getting a lot of sand in his eyes, not to mention his mouth! How he can stand it, I don't know, but just look at him go! Where is the Meta Clan!_

_Well,_ they're_ about a quarter of the way over the ruins of Butter Building. I don't even know why they entered this race. They simply have no chance of winning against those two bullets! _

_Anyway, back to the action! Marx still hasn't lost his lead and now Kirby's trying to catch up! That sandstorm certainly provided an interesting twist, didn't it? They're passing over the second mountain range and into Red Canyon! This is where the third-and-final obstacle lies in wait: tall, sharp rock formations! That's right, folks! They have to navigate around and between hundreds of scraggly pillars of rock! Whoa! Careful, Marx! That huge wingspan of yours is sure to present some difficulties. But Kirby glides through like a hot knife through butter. Smooth as can be! _

_Now they're neck-in-neck again! No, Marx is in front. No, Kirby's in front! Now Marx! Now Kirby! Now Marx!!! Now they're tied and speeding up! Oh, I almost can't watch!_

****

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed Kirby.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed Marx.

_CRASH!!!_

****

_And there's the finishing blow! There you have it, folks! Just as I predicted! _That_ is why you should always follow the speed limit! That mountain is going to have their face-prints in it for centuries to come._

_Now, let's get back to the Meta Clan, shall we? Well, they're just now entering the sandstorm, but since they're in a ship, that's really no problem. Let's wait and see what happens._

****

"Sir," said Meta Axe, "Kirby and Marx have stopped moving."

"Let me see," said Sasuke, glancing over at the radar screen. "Well, it seems that they have both slammed themselves into the mountain range on the far side of Red Canyon in their effort to reach Chuchu before each other."

A number of the Meta Clan laughed, including Meta Knight.

"Well," he chuckled, "I suppose we won't have to make a dash for Chuchu after all. Captain, maintain our current velocity and pilot us over to Marx and Kirby."

****

_And so... yawn... the Meta Clan exit the sandstorm. And then they lazily fly through Red Canyon... Between the rock pillars... Just keep going... Don't stop... Soooooooooooooo boring. _

_And now they're flying up to the other racers. This is the first time, since the race began, that the Meta Clan has been in the lead, but now they're stopping. Why, Meta Knight? Why are you stopping when victory is just ahead?!_

****

Kirby had hit the rock headfirst and was now stuck in it. His warpstar had overheated and fallen to the floor of Red Canyon in flames. Marx didn't look much better.

"Shall we kill them, Sir Meta Knight?" asked Captain Birdbrain.

"Definitely, Captain," answered Meta Knight. "Sasuke, fire the lasers directly at Kirby and continue the stream until there is a hole right through his body."

"Right-o, Sir!" replied Sasuke.

The guns aimed... and... clicked a number of times.

"Oh, no," said Sasuke.

"What _now_?" complained some of the Meta Clan.

"The guns are clogged with sand," explained Sasuke. "We can't fire."

Captain Birdbrain swore loudly.

"Aw, man," said Meta Drone. "Plan I failed, dudes."

"Plan I?" hissed Meta Lance. "I don't remember that one."

"He must have interpreted firing our lasers just now as another plan," said Meta Knight dejectedly. "Oh, well. At least Chuchu is still out there. Plan H can still succeed. Besides, _these_ two," he motioned at Marx and Kirby, "have no chance of getting to her before us. Let's get going again."

"But, wait," rumbled Big Wheelie. "Why don't we just ram our ship into them repeatedly and reduce them to pancakes like foes under my rolling body?"

"Don't you remember?" answered Meta Sword. "If this ship sustains even the slightest breach, Dark Matter will seep in and possess us all. Ramming repeatedly into stone would not be very safe."

"Captain," commanded Meta Knight, "keep going in the direction Marx was headed when he crashed. Meta Axe, keep watching for Chuchu. And Sasuke, get ready with the net."

****

_And the ship is moving again! You go, Meta Knight! Folks, you can all learn a lesson today from the Meta Clan. "Slow and steady wins the race."_

****

****

The Meta Clan found Chuchu on outskirts of Big Forest.

The capture was quick. Sasuke launched the net (actually, it was more of a bag or sack), which encased Chuchu. He then picked it up with the ship's mechanical arm and placed it in the air lock, which then activated, dumping the bag (with Chuchu inside it) into the ship with the Meta Clan.

Chuchu pounded against the bag, but to no avail. Its string was lined with a flexible, yet unbreakable metal.

"You let me out of here!" she shrieked, no longer restricted by the Dark Cloud. "When Kirby finds out you captured me, he'll massacre you!"

"Really now," said Meta Knight softly. "Do you seriously want to be released again into the Dark Cloud?"

Chuchu was silent and Meta Knight grinned behind his mask.

"Captain," he said, "take us back to Kirby."

****

Kirby had gotten another warpstar and flown towards Big Forest. The arsenal ship greeted his arrival.

"Kirby," said Meta Knight into a microphone inside the ship that led to a speaker on the outside, "do not come near. We have captured Chuchu and are prepared to do with her whatever it takes to make you stay back."

"How do I know you've captured Chuchu?" replied Kirby. "All your ship looks like is a black blob."

Meta Knight gave another microphone to Meta Sword, who put it next to Chuchu's bag. He then poked her with a little electric gizmo that Escargoon had brought down from the cargo car.

There was a zapping noise and Chuchu shrieked in pain.

"Chuchu!" yelled Kirby.

"Don't come closer," warned Meta Knight, "or we'll do it again. And this time it'll be longer."

"What do you want from me?!" shouted Kirby.

"Just a moment," said Meta Knight, turning to the rest of his crew, who were all shouting at him to make Kirby do different degrading things. He covered the mike and said, "We are not here to humiliate Kirby; we are here to kill him! What I need is a suggestion for something that Kirby could do that would lead to his demise."

Meta Lance: "Make him swim into Acro's cave!"

Meta Sword: "Make him unplug our guns!"

Meta Blade: "Make him surrender to Marx!"

Meta Chain: "Make him dance!"

"Make him dance?!" interrupted Meta Knight.

"Sounds good to me," commented the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"None of these will work," continued Meta Knight. "We've got to think of something that he won't suspect is a trap. Something simple, yet deadly. Maybe something others have tried and not survived."

"Make him go inside Titan Tower!" shouted Meta Axe.

"Now _that's_ more like it!" said Meta Knight. "Thank you, Meta Axe!" He then said into the phone, "Kirby, follow this ship, but don't come any closer than you are now."

****

Remember how I said that Titan Tower is said to reach the heavens? Well, it really does. If you ever fly up it on the outside (it looks like a huge, round, grey pillar), you will eventually come to a point where it reaches the clouds. Once above the cloud line, however, it will have vanished. No one has ever seen its top. Even if you come from above and try to land on top of it, you'll always miss and end up beside it again. Plus, the entire structure is made out of a super-super-hard metal alloy that includes compressed carbon. There is said to be a treasure at its top of unimaginable worth, but none who ever entered the building (up until this point in the story at least) have ever come out again. Well, actually some have, but not until everyone they know has died of old age. Don't get it yet? You will next chapter.

****

Kirby followed the arsenal ship all the way to Titan Tower in the southwest part of Rainbow Resort.

"Now, Kirby," said Meta Knight. "Enter this building and I swear, on the Code of the Meta Clan, that I will set Chuchu free."

Meta Sword had already removed the microphone from Chuchu's side, so Kirby did not hear her yells of "Don't do it, Kirby!"

"But, Meta Knight," said Kirby, "I was always warned not to go into Titan Tower."

"Really?" said Meta Knight in mock-surprise. "How come?"

"No one's ever returned after going in."

"Oh, do you really believe those stories? Look, all you have to do is take a peek in there. Just walk inside the door. Come back out and Chuchu will be right there waiting for you."

"That's all I have to do?"

"Just go in and I swear Chuchu will be released."

"Okay..."

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey from the phone. "What are you doing?! NEVER GO IN TITAN TOWER! YOU HEAR ME? NEVER!!!"

Kirby closed the connection.

Everyone in the arsenal ship held their breath.

Kirby dismounted the warpstar and took a single step inside.

Instantly the door clanged shut behind him and locked. The warpstar then disappeared.

There were great cheers and whoops from the Meta Clan.

"Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!" said Meta Drone. "Plan H succeeded dudes! Like, whoop-de-doo and yay too!"

"Noooooooooooooooooo!" screamed Chuchu.

"Are we winning?" asked the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"Against Kirby," said Meta Knight triumphantly, "we have won."

****

Meta Knight had Captain Birdbrain fly the arsenal ship back to Red Canyon.

Meta Knight then used the mike to call into the night, "Dark Matter! This is Meta Knight from the Meta Clan! Now that you have won the war, I have a little present for you! It's annoying, wears a bow, and will transform into a slug when I release it into your Dark Cloud!"

Marx flew slowly down in front of the ship.

"Excellent," he said, grinning maliciously.


	72. Titans! Trouble!

NOTE TO THE READER: Thank you for all your faithfulness in reading this fic. I know the chapters aren't coming out as quickly these days, but that's because they're getting really long. This chapter is, by far, my longest so far. I'm serious; all the others are tiny compared to this. So get ready. This chapter displays what is pretty much the peak of Kirby's (or Popopo's) battling career. Because of this chapter's insane length, FanFiction.Net simply refuses to show breaks in it. So, I've put in "VICTORY #" and then the number in place of each break. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

**Chapter 72: Titans! Trouble!**

Kirby banged on the door.

_No!_ he thought. _It was a trap after all!_

"Gooey," said Kirby into the phone, "um, let me explain."

That was when Kirby noticed that the phone was emitting static noise. Apparently, Titan Tower was blocking reception.

If Kirby had teeth, he would have gritted them.

It seemed that he had exited the Dark Cloud. Dark Matter was somehow unable to penetrate Titan Tower.

The room he was in was large and cubic. Across the room was a round glass case and inside the case was...

"No," said Kirby quietly. "It can't be."

...red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, asleep.

But now the Poppy's eyes opened. The glass that confined him unhinged at the top and he pushed it open.

"A Dreamlander?" he said in a calm, happy voice. "I am delighted that you came. This will be easy."

Kirby gave him a quizzical look.

"Allow me to introduce myself," continued the Poppy. "I am the one-and-only red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior and the first combatant of Titan Tower."

"Combatant?" asked Kirby.

"Yes. Don't you know we have to fight each other? Well, here are the rules of this place: If the challenger (that's you) wins, then he or she advances to the next room up the Tower. If the Titan wins, that Titan is released from Titan Tower and the challenger will be trapped in here as a new Titan. I happen to know that there are seven Titans in this building. You will need to fight them all to get to the top, but I highly doubt you will make it past me."

The Poppy's voice never quavered from its delighted tone.

"Before we get started, let me tell you a little about myself," he continued. "I am one of the three Poppy Brothers Triplets. When I was very young, I figured out how to build explosives. I imagine my brothers will have done so themselves by now. With my incredible explosive prowess, I decided to try scaling Titan Tower, but, as you can see, I didn't get very far. I've never won a single battle. It's just not fair! That time before was just chance! Now I know exactly how to beat down the competition. Prepare yourself to get blown away by my fire!"

The room began to change. It began to expand. Its walls started to shine slightly. Its floor was bedecked with a checkerboard pattern. Hallways started appearing, leading off from the room. Now the two combatants were in the main hall of what seemed to be a huge palace.

"How..." began Kirby.

"This is where we fight," said the Poppy happily, pulling out a bomb. "Let's go, go, GO!"

The Poppy lobbed the bomb. Kirby dodged and ran away down a corridor. He still didn't quite know what was going on, but somehow felt an inner urge to get away from the Poppy.

"You can run, but you can't hide," said the Poppy happily.

_KABLAM!_ An explosion blew a hole in the wall behind Kirby. The Poppy was looking through.

Kirby kept going, but there was another explosion in front of him, blasting the wall up ahead as well. Kirby ran past just as the Poppy threw four bombs down the corridor. They exploded behind.

Kirby took a left, now moving directly away from the main hall. He then summoned Stone and Parasol abilities to become Stone Parasol Kirby!

Kirby held his parasol behind him, using it as a shield against the bombs that the Poppy had thrown at him just now. The Poppy was chasing him down the corridor.

Kirby arrived at a huge dining hall filled with tables. He trashed his ability and summoned Fighter plus High-Jump to become Suplex Kirby!

Kirby grabbed a table and threw it back towards the Poppy, who threw a bomb to blow it up in mid-air. Kirby threw more tables and the Poppy threw more bombs. After causing enough confusion with blasts and smoke, Kirby started running again.

_Why am I running from this guy?_ thought Kirby as he ran into the kitchen. _I could probably beat him if I just face him. What am I so scared of?_

A volley of explosions completely decimated the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining hall.

_Where are all those bombs_ coming_ from?_ thought Kirby.

Kirby made it to the other side of the kitchen, but instead of going through the door, he turned to face the Poppy.

"Eat guided missiles, Dreamlander!" shouted red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, pulling out a bazooka.

Kirby screamed and opened the door, running through and shutting it a split-second before the missiles reached it.

_Boom! Blam! Kabam!_

"Normally my opponents say 'Holy &%#' when I pull out that missile launcher!" shouted the Poppy, firing again.

Kirby turned sharply around a corner and the missiles hit a wall, unable to change direction fast enough.

Kirby kept running. Just running and running. Then there was another explosion in front of him along that corridor. Dang! That Poppy's everywhere!

The Poppy took aim with the bazooka again. Three missiles were sent streaking in Kirby's direction.

Kirby inhaled the missiles and shot them back towards Poppy, who ducked behind the wall as the missiles flew by.

Kirby waited for him to peek back around, but instead an explosion overhead blew a hole in the ceiling. The Poppy dropped two bombs down and Kirby inhaled them, but instead of shooting them back, he swallowed, combining their two Bomb abilities to become Homing Missile Kirby!

Kirby opened his mouth and three guided missiles shot upward at the Poppy.

"Wooooaah!" shrieked the Poppy as he dodged, but the missiles curved around to come at him again. There was an explosion.

Kirby flew upward through the hole and a bomb blew up in his face! Kirby landed hard on the ground below, but wasted no time in starting to run again. The Poppy had blown up the three missiles with one of his own bombs and then set up a trap for Kirby!

Kirby trashed his power, turned left, turned right, and ran in an open door.

But now he came to a dead-end in the form of a lavish bedroom. Getting an idea, he removed the pillow from the huge bed and stuffed himself inside the pillowcase. Maybe that would buy him some time to think and recuperate.

Kirby heard bouncing footsteps. The Poppy had entered the bedroom. Kirby shifted slightly so that he could see him. The Poppy didn't seem to notice.

"Kirby?" he said happily, pulling out a detonator box. "Are you sleeping?"

Kirby jumped off the bed as fast as he could. The Poppy pushed down the handle on the box and the entire bed exploded.

Kirby was out the door and running again. He summoned Cutter plus Stone and used Sculpture ability to once again turn into a stone wheel.

Kirby sped off... through a corridor... down some stairs... and back into the main hall.

Kirby trashed his ability and looked around quickly. Then he noticed something. There were double-doors on one side of the main hall. Kirby had seen pictures of palaces before and they always seemed to have double-doors at their entrance.

Kirby raced over, flung open the doors, and stepped out into the sunshine.

_Where am I?_ thought Kirby.

This was definitely not Dreamland. Grassy hills and plains stretched as far as the eye could see. Kirby looked back at the palace. It was silvery white and gigantic against the light-blue sky. This world was like nothing Kirby had ever seen.

The Poppy looked out a window high above.

"Oh, _there _you are, Dreamlander," he said happily. "I don't suggest you run away. This place is in the middle of nowhere! Why not stay and sample my new batch of explosives?"

The Poppy dumped a crate of TNT out the window. Kirby, not heeding the Poppy's "advice" started to run away.

"Kirby..." called the Poppy, "come back..."

Kirby kept running. He ran over a hill and stopped on the other side, with the palace out of sight.

_What am I going to do?_ he thought as he looked out over the endless grass. _How am I supposed to beat this guy if I'm irrationally afraid of him?! Oh, I know! I'll use a Plasma combo-ability! But... Which one?_

Kirby decided to give red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior a taste of his own medicine. He summoned Plasma and Bomb abilities to become Hyper-Bomb Kirby!

Kirby pulled out a bomb. It was unlit. Kirby focused on it and the fuse ignited (one charge). As he continued to focus, he started running back towards the palace.

The second charge transformed the bomb into a bazooka, which also had a fuse. Kirby carried it towards the palace, still concentrating.

"Do you want to know why you're so scared of me?" asked the Poppy happily from the window.

Kirby stopped.

"Yeah!" he said. He just _knew _there had to be some sort of explanation in that regard.

"Well, I'll tell you!" continued the Poppy happily. "I can instill fear in anyone using my great mental ph34r powers!"

"What?" said Kirby. "What's ph34r?"

"Ph34r teh me!" shouted the Poppy happily.

Kirby screamed. He just couldn't help it. Suddenly, he _had_ to get away from the Poppy!

Kirby spun around and started running away.

That was when the fuse on his bazooka ran out.

The shot exploded with a huge bang on the hill in front of Kirby, but left no damage (weird world, eh?). The bazooka then disappeared and Kirby ran behind the hill again. There was a thumping sensation inside his body. Most non-Dreamlanders think that's a heartbeat, but Dreamlanders don't have hearts. What's the use of a heart if you don't have blood? They might not have a heart, but they feel as though they do.

Kirby steadied his breath. He started charging up again, telling himself that he had to just face his ph34r5.

Charge one: lit fuse. Charge two: bazooka.

Kirby started running back towards the palace.

Charge three: detonator box. (If he had activated his ability right then, he would have been able to make any inanimate object he selected to spontaneously combust, no matter what its size.)

Kirby was nearly there.

Charge four! Kirby now carried the legendary Orb of Ubertornami!

Kirby activated his power, opening the Orb and allowing a flood of nitroglycerin to spew forth.

A great wave loomed over the castle.

Kirby could just barely hear red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior say "I am no longer delighted." Before the wave came crashing down, causing huge explosions everywhere and reducing the palace to a ruin.

VICTORY #1!

Suddenly, Kirby was standing back in that cubic room again and the Poppy was back in the glass case, sleeping.

Kirby felt as though the fight had never taken place. There were no burn marks on his face and he was without an ability.

A door opened on the left side of the room. Kirby went through. He then climbed a long spiral staircase to another door. This he entered as well and it shut, locking behind him.

Across this new cubic room was another glass case. It contained a large, sleeping, yellow, lizard-like creature. It had a huge head and bulging eyes. It had hooks instead of feet and stubby arms with claws attached. Around its neck were small pieces of feathery jewelry.

It awoke and the glass case opened.

"Hello!" it said, opening its mouth wide with every syllable. "My name is Chameleo Arm and I am the second Titan of Titan Tower. I was once a member of the Combo-Elementals. I was the light-chemical hybrid. All of us worked so well as a team. Dynablade was metal-sky. Master Green was water-electricity. Wham Bam Rock was rock-darkness. And Magman was fire-earth."

_So Magman _was_ one of the protectors!_ thought Kirby.

"But then," continued Chameleo Arm, "the Meta Clan found a way to upset the balance of nature by making the sun and the moon fight over control of the skies. Our job was to protect Dreamland from destruction, so we had to stop them. Meta Knight gathered his Meta Army and sent them to take over Castle Dedede in the confusion. The devastation was terrible. Master Green was slaughtered by the Meta Army. Wham Bam Rock was crushed by the moon and thrown into the sun. Magman was cut in half at the waist, depriving him of the ability to move, and dumped in Heat Top to rot. Only Dynablade and I survived. But no one knows I did! Because after it was all over, I tried coming in here to acquire the treasure at the top and so allow what was left of the Combo-Elementals to regain power! Dynablade advised against it, but I was foolish. As you can see, I only won a single battle before suffering defeat and becoming trapped in here. So far, I have not yet won another battle, but a Dreamlander like you should be easy prey. I can't imagine why we Combo-Elementals were assigned to protect you people. All you do is play and eat! Well, you shall be the first of your kind to serve some purpose. It should be your honor to take my place in this Tower... so that I can finally get out of here and reclaim the glory I deserve!"

The room expanded and its surfaces turned brown. Soon the two were in a gigantic stone room. Columns of stone appeared in a grid pattern all over. Then the walls and columns were all carved with strange designs. Kirby didn't understand what they were, but if _you_ were there, you might. They were hieroglyphics.

Chameleo Arm leaped into action, extending one of his super-stretchy legs and slicing Kirby with the hook on the end.

Kirby shrieked and summoned Beam plus Spark to become Laser Kirby! Kirby took aim and fired.

"Oh, my!" shouted Chameleo Arm, dodging the shot.

Kirby fired a couple more times, but Chameleo Arm jumped up onto a pillar. He scrambled up it and then stretched his leg to try slicing Kirby again.

Kirby dodged and shouted, "Two can play at that game!"

Kirby trashed Laser and summoned Bomb plus Cutter to become Ninja Kirby!

Kirby leapt up. High off the ground, his feet stuck fast to a column. From there, he threw a barrage of exploding ninja-stars!

Chameleo Arm proved to be very bendy. His dodging skills seemed unbeatable, even when Kirby flipped off the column and threw nine stars at once!

Chameleo Arm reached out with his leg again and Kirby gave it a quick slice with his dagger.

"YOW!" yelped Chameleo Arm, quickly withdrawing the leg. The color of his skin changed to blue.

_When Chameleo Arm gets hurt,_ reasoned Kirby, _his body must spasm and change its color._

"Well, if it's a projectile match you want," shouted Chameleo Arm, " then I'll have you know that two can play at _that_ game as well!"

Chameleo Arm opened his mouth and out shot three strange balls, which were colored in swirling, moving designs of color.

Kirby leaped out of the way. Each ball splattered the surface it struck with noxious (but still colorful) acid.

Kirby threw more ninja-stars and Chameleo Arm threw more color balls. Both jumped from column to column. Eventually, one of Kirby's ninja stars nicked Chameleo Arm in the cheek, causing him to yelp again, turn green, and fall to the ground.

"To Hell with this!" shouted Chameleo Arm.

Kirby watched as Chameleo Arm disappeared.

"What?" shouted Kirby. "Where did you go?"

"I am using camouflage to become invisible," said Chameleo Arm's voice. "You'll never win now!"

"Oh, but I think so!" shouted Kirby. He then trashed his ability and summoned Bomb plus Fire to become Firework Kirby!

Kirby shot around the room, exploding everywhere in colorful blasts of flame. When he was certain he had fried the whole big room, he landed.

_Did I get him?_ he thought.

_Slice! Slice!_

Kirby suddenly sustained a gash on each cheek. Where they had come from, he couldn't see.

Kirby screamed and blasted his surroundings with fireworks.

"I don't know how you got all those powers, Dreamlander," shouted Chameleo Arm's voice from somewhere far off, "but you're never going to hit me with any of them while I'm invisible! Heads up!"

From Kirby's right came a cascade of color balls. He ran and dodged as fast as he could, but couldn't quite get away.

So he turned and inhaled. The last ball went in his mouth.

He had no idea where Chameleo Arm was, so he didn't know where to shoot. Instead, he swallowed the ball, transforming into Paint Kirby!

Kirby activated his one-time-use-only ability, spewing paint into his surroundings.

"No!" shouted Chameleo Arm. "My body!"

Kirby saw Chameleo Arm among the now multicolored pillars. The paint had splattered his front completely red.

Before Kirby could summon an ability, Chameleo Arm curled into a ball and drove over him.

Then... _Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!_

Kirby rolled over on the ground with cuts all over his body. The Paint blast had been in vain.

"There..." said Chameleo Arm triumphantly. "It's over Dreamlander. Sorry I have to leave you in here, but it's the only way I'm getting out!"

Kirby turned his mutilated face towards Chameleo Arm.

"I'm... not... beaten... yet..." he muttered.

"Then your death shall be of painful digestion in my stomach!" shouted Chameleo Arm, sticking out his long sticky tongue, snapping it on Kirby and drawing him into his mouth.

A few seconds passed.

Then a small, glowing, red stick poked out of Chameleo Arm's skull and another out of his torso. Kirby had summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby! His double light-saber had then punctured and fried most of Chameleo Arm's internal organs.

Chameleo Arm shuddered... and fell over in a pool of blood.

VICTORY #2!

Kirby was back and unhurt in the cubic room; Chameleo Arm was back in his glass case.

The door opened, Kirby went through and climbed more stairs to the next cubic room.

Across it was a third glass case. Inside this one sat a small green blob about a third of Kirby's size.

Little eyes appeared on the blob and they opened along with the glass case.

Kirby gave it a quizzical look.

"I'm Popon!" said the blobby ball cutely. It didn't have a visible mouth, but continued to talk just the same. "I like to grow! Can _you_ stop me?"

"How did you _ever_ win against two Titans?" asked Kirby.

"He-he-he," giggled Popon cutely. "I was just about to ask you that same question."

The walls of the room disappeared. Kirby and Popon were now standing on a stone pillar... high, high above a sea of lava. The rest of this new world was pitch black (that included the sky).

"I'll make this quick," said Kirby, looking back at Popon. But then he gasped.

Popon had mutated. It was now a stalk of _three_ green balls with their ends connected. The top one still had eyes.

Then it happened again. Now Popon was _five_ segments high. Kirby tried inhaling it, but nothing happened.

Two more balls appeared every second.

Kirby summoned the first combination he thought of: Sword plus High-Jump. Kirby became Berserk Kirby!

Kirby flew at Popon and sliced it into many, _many_ pieces. Then he transformed back into regular Kirby.

But something was wrong. Each piece was forming a new Popon. Each piece was growing new pieces!

Kirby didn't know what to do and then didn't act quickly enough. The Popon clones all twirled around him, covering the top of the pillar in a gigantic, swarming mass of green.

Kirby, panicking, summoned Bomb ability and launched some into his surroundings. They only destroyed a small number of Popon. Now Kirby was lifted up by the Popon. He struggled against them and lost his ability. He started to suffocate.

"This is fun!" said all the Popon clones together in cute voices.

Kirby tried one last ditch-attempt to save himself, summoning two Stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby!

_KABOOM!_

_Crack! Crack-CRACK!_

All the Popon clones screamed together as the pillar broke, sending both Kirby and Popon down into the lava.

"Noooooooooo!" shrieked the last of the Popon clones as they clung to the slowly-submerging Monolith Kirby. "This is how I lost _last _time!"

Monolith Kirby, still unhurt, fell beneath the surface of the lava.

VICTORY #3!

Returned once more to a cubic room, Kirby left and advanced.

Titan number four awoke and came out of his glass case.

This one was a humanoid just a little taller than Kirby. He had purple skin and white hair, which was held by a green headband-type thing (that had a gold stone in the middle) in two parting waves on either side of his head. He wore a white glove on each hand. His shirt and pants were combined into one red outfit. His shoes were red as well.

He stared at Kirby, seemingly sizing him up. Then he put a finger to his nose and rubbed it slightly.

"I dunno how a Dreamlander got this high in Titan Tower," he said in a rough, harsh, yet kiddy voice, "but I can assure you you'll get no higher. My name's Knuckle Joe. I used to be the best fighter in all of Dreamland, but I dreamed of more. I wanted to scale Titan Tower and claim the treasure at its top! My pals told me not to. They told me it was suicide. Of course, I didn't listen. And now, here I am! Trapped in this hellhole until I can defeat another in combat! I'd hate to be you right now. You've woken me up in a particularly grumpy mood!!!"

As if because of Knuckle Joe's anger, the walls of the cubic room were blasted away.

The two fighters now stood on a boulder in the midst of a gigantic world of rock. Strange coiling stone mountains were everywhere. All the landscape was contorted into bizarre, twisted formations of tan-colored stone. The sky was a light grey.

"Hyaaaaaah!" shouted Knuckle Joe, flying at Kirby in a meteor punch.

Kirby quickly summoned Fighter ability to become Fighter Kirby! Kirby then blocked the punch with a roundhouse kick.

"Well, whaddya know?" said Knuckle Joe. "A fighter, eh? That's great, Dreamlander, but you've got no idea what you're dealing with."

What followed was a hand-to-hand fight much like Kirby's duel with Meta Knight. It was that fast.

Kick, punch, block, punch, block, block, kick, punch.

See?

Since the fight was going nowhere at that point, Knuckle Joe leapt backwards and performed a smash punch in the air.

But at the punch, a small white orb of energy flew from Knuckle Joe's fist and struck Kirby in the face, blasting him off the boulder. It was as if Knuckle Joe had just punched Kirby directly.

Kirby landed on a stone slant below and Knuckle Joe looked down at him from atop the boulder.

"How did you do that?" asked Kirby.

Knuckle Joe jumped and sped downwards at Kirby in a comet kick. Kirby rolled over to dodge it and Knuckle Joe left a miniature crater in the ground where he struck.

"Wanna know, Dreamlander?" he asked. "The Fighter Energy Beam isn't easy to master."

"Hold on a minute," said Kirby, getting up. He then summoned Beam ability to combine it with Fighter and become Fighter Energy Kirby!

"What's that for?" asked Knuckle Joe, motioning towards Kirby's headband. It had turned white.

"My headband?" said Kirby. "Well, I imagine it changed color. That means that I now can do this!"

Kirby threw a punch. Knuckle Joe dodged and an orb of Fighter Energy hit the stone behind him.

"You're impressive, Dreamlander," acknowledged Knuckle Joe, rubbing his nose again. "But simple abilities can't defeat me. You've gotta know how to use them!"

Both Knuckle Joe and Kirby leapt away from each other, firing a barrage of punches. Each punch orb met its counterpart from the other fighter in the air and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kirby did another roundhouse kick and Knuckle Joe did another smash punch.

The punch broke the kick (which was in the shape of a crescent) in half and each piece flew by Knuckle Joe, blasting the rocks behind him. Kirby dodged what was left of the punch.

In a flash, Knuckle Joe flew at Kirby and smashed him with a rising break. Then he jumped into the air and hit Kirby downward with the progressive vulcan jab down into the ground! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen progressive hits!!!

Kirby retaliated by nailing Knuckle Joe in the side of the head with a spinning pinpoint kick! Knuckle Joe flew and hit the side of the boulder they had started on.

Both combatants got to their feet.

"Stupid boulder!" shouted Knuckle Joe, running around to the side of it.

Knuckle Joe brought up a fist.

"Hoooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he screamed as his white glove began to shine. When it was glowing white-hot, Knuckle Joe let fly with a punch that made the entire boulder crumble to pieces.

Kirby's eyes widened and one side of his mouth drooped.

"Alright," said Knuckle Joe, panting slightly. "Now I'm ready.

"No more Fighter Energy, Kirby!" said Knuckle Joe. "Now's when we go all out, hand-to-hand."

Kirby trashed his ability and summoned Bomb plus Fighter (he was curious) to become Power Punch Kirby! (This ability featured a black headband.)

Knuckle Joe raced at him, jumped, and performed comet kick again. Kirby dodged, blocked Knuckle Joe's subsequent punches, and hit him in the face.

Knuckle Joe went flying (like a cannonball out of a cannon) into a bent, upside-down, cone-shaped rock formation. There his body smashed through the rock itself, creating a hole through to the center where his body lay.

_Did I win?_ thought Kirby.

But no. The entire cone exploded. Knuckle Joe was bloody and unhappy. He was also somehow hovering in the air.

"That's it!" he shouted, rubbing his nose. "Here it comes! You asked for it!"

Knuckle Joe locked his muscles, drawing all his limbs into a ball with his body.

With a shriek, he then uncurled rapidly and a strange change came over him.

All of the following happened the instant he uncurled. His outfit changed from red to royal purple. His shoes changed from red to blue. His headband turned from green to white. The stone in the middle of it turned from gold to red. His skin turned from purple to that peachy color characteristic of some humanoids. The pupils of his eyes turned from black to bright green. Lastly, his hair turned yellow and stood up even straighter than before. Only his gloves kept their original color: white.

Then, as he hovered, Kirby noticed a golden glowing aura around him.

"You shouldn't have messed with me, Dreamlander!" he shouted. "Now you're in for a world of pain!"

He punched the nearest rock formation, reducing it to rubble as easily as if it was a card tower.

_Uh-oh, _thought Kirby.

Fast as a bullet, Knuckle Joe shot at Kirby in a meteor punch.

Knowing he couldn't possibly get away in time, Kirby made the split-second decision to punch back.

The two fists met in the air. Kirby's, helped by Power Punch ability, was strong enough to stop Knuckle Joe, but that was it.

Kirby threw another punch, but Knuckle Joe disappeared, reappearing right behind Kirby and punching him instead.

Kirby soared over the stone landscape, losing his Power Punch ability. Through his pain, Kirby reasoned to himself how Knuckle Joe could have gotten so powerful. It was like he had multiplied his fighting power. Wait! That's it!

Kirby summoned two Fighter abilities to become Saiyan Kirby! Kirby turned back around, hovering as well. His headband was now gold.

Knuckle Joe rose into the sky. Now both combatants were at the same altitude.

"You copycat!" he yelled. "Whatever I do, you do it too! This isn't fair!"

"How the heck did someone defeat you?" asked Kirby, curious as to how Knuckle Joe got trapped in Titan Tower.

"My last opponent was a gigantic living alarm clock!" answered Knuckle Joe. "His ringing was too much. He was even more insanely aggravating than you! Prepare to die, you annoying Dreamlander!!!"

Knuckle Joe brought his hands back into a round shape and charged up.

Kirby waited.

Knuckle Joe unleashed a huge blast of energy from his palms, but Kirby had already predicted the shot and how to dodge it.

Now Kirby pelted Knuckle Joe from above with the progressive xirtam kick, scoring way too many hits to type up!!!

Kirby drilled a gigantic crater in the ground with his kicks, pummeling Knuckle Joe underneath in an insane fury of Saiyan power. Rocks were dislodging themselves from the ground below, flying upwards as the crater got bigger and bigger.

But was it overkill? Not hardly.

Knuckle Joe's fist shot up from the crater, punching Kirby away. Knuckle Joe then rose back into the air. He had dirt and dust all over him, not to mention bloody gashes everywhere.

"I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU'LL EVER HOPE TO BE IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS!" he roared. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN DEFEAT ME!!!"

Knuckle Joe flew as fast as he could toward Kirby.

Kirby did the same towards Knuckle Joe.

Just as they met, Kirby opened his mouth. Knuckle Joe flew straight in and Kirby swallowed.

VICTORY #4!

Kirby reappeared in the cubic room and Knuckle Joe back in the glass case.

_Wow,_ thought Kirby. _To think all that power was stored in something so small. And he even accomplished that all himself. My star rod shards may be powerful, but that guy could destroy a whole _planet_ if he wanted to! I'm sure glad I made it past this round._

Another climb up the spiral staircase put Kirby in the fifth cubic room. There, he met the next combatant: a giant blue beetle at least ten times Kirby's size. Not only that, but the beetle also carried a cutlass in one hand and a spiky club in the other (it stood on its hind legs). It looked sort of like a Hercules beetle, but the pincers at its mouth were turned horizontal instead of vertical.

"Bleah!" snarled the beetle. Its voice was low and gruff. "So, another challenger come! I Bugzzy! I going destroy you with sword and club! You not tough as fire lion! I beat you easy!!!"

The world transformed into a dense, dark forest.

Bugzzy walked slowly towards Kirby.

Kirby immediately got an idea as to how to beat this one: fire. Create a forest fire to incinerate the bug and then fly above the canopy.

Kirby summoned Fire ability to become Fire Kirby! Kirby turned to the side and breathed fire on a tree, but the tree didn't catch on fire. It didn't even get burnt. Darn it! These alternate worlds sure were strange!

Kirby turned and blew fire at Bugzzy, who held up his sword and spun it very fast in his hand, creating a fan that pushed back the flames.

Kirby's eyes widened. He summoned Bomb ability to combine it with Fire and become Firework Kirby!

Bugzzy might not have looked very fast, but he sure was quick with his weapons. His fan-type defense didn't allow even a single blast to get near him.

Kirby trashed his ability and jumped over Bugzzy's sword slice. Bugzzy kept coming with slices and blows with his sword and club, but Kirby kept jumping away. Many of Bugzzy's slices and blows hit trees, felling them.

_I'll _never_ beat this guy unless I can deprive him of his weapons!_ thought Kirby. _Maybe a double light-saber will be able to destroy them._

Kirby summoned Sword and Spark abilities to become Darth Kirby! He raced at Bugzzy.

What Bugzzy saw was a small red-and-black ball that was holding two glowing red sticks. With no thoughts except for destruction in his mind, he simply flattened the ball with his club.

Kirby instantly lost his ability when he was crushed. Then he ran away in pain.

_Ow..._ he thought. _Well, _that_ didn't work! I need to be protected from blows like that if I need to go near him again. And I also need some sort of explosion to get rid of those weapons. Maybe this'll do it._

Kirby summoned Stone and Bomb abilities to become Dynamite Kirby! A construction worker's hardhat appeared on Kirby's head.

_Not exactly what I had in mind,_ thought Kirby. _I wonder what this ability does._

Kirby activated the ability. Reaching into his mouth, he pulled out three sticks of dynaminte, which were bound together and sharing a lit fuse. The problem was that Kirby didn't know what dynamite was.

_What's this thing?_ he thought, holding the dynamite as Bugzzy got slowly closer. _It doesn't look very powerful. Oh, well. Here ya go, Bugzzy._

Kirby tossed the dynamite in Bugzzy's direction.

Immediately, Kirby flattened his body, withdrawing inside his hardhat. He hadn't done it intentionally. It must have been a part of activating the ability.

Bugzzy stopped. He didn't know what dynamite was either. Since he didn't understand what it was, his obvious reaction was to try to destroy it.

Bugzzy raised his club and brought it down on the dynamite.

_CRACKABOOM!!!_

Kirby's hardhat disappeared. Now he could see Bugzzy, standing perfectly still a couple yards away. The great beetle had black soot all up and down his front and his eyes were wide and staring. Both his weapons were gone.

"You make lose weapons!" he roared. "Now I _really_ angry!!!"

Bugzzy opened his wing case and beat his wings really fast. Suddenly, he shot at Kirby like a bullet.

_Snap!_

Before Kirby could react, Bugzzy had gripped him in the pincers on his mouth. Then Bugzzy lifted Kirby up and slammed him into the ground.

_BAM!_

Bugzzy did it again and again.

_BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! _

In the midst of his pain, Kirby remembered how to escape from something like this. He flattened his body and wriggled out of Bugzzy's pincers.

Kirby started to run away, but Bugzzy opened his wing case again, beat his wings, and once more shot at Kirby!

Kirby dodged and Bugzzy hit a tree. Bugzzy then ripped the tree out of the ground with his pincers and threw it at Kirby. But he missed and Kirby continued to run.

When Kirby was a good distance away, he looked back at Bugzzy. Bugzzy was opening his wing case for the third time.

Kirby got ready to dodge, but Bugzzy didn't beat his wings. Instead, a gigantic swarm of little flying beetles flew out from inside his wing case.

Just when they got to Kirby, he inhaled all of them and shot them back at Bugzzy.

Bugzzy tried to dodge, but the condensed swarm projectile hit him in the side, knocking him over.

Kirby ran over, summoning Fire ability to become Fire Kirby!

Bugzzy got up just in time to see Kirby blow fire in his face.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" roared Bugzzy as he was engulfed by the flames.

VICTORY #5!

The next glass case contained a dark-brown lion even bigger than Bugzzy. As it awoke, flames erupted into a mane around its head and a tuft on the end of its tail. His eyes opened. They were white-hot and without pupils.

_So the fire lion Bugzzy spoke of wasn't the one who imprisoned him in here,_ thought Kirby. _This guy must have come later and beaten Bugzzy to advance! Well, _he_ didn't make it to the top either._

The glass case opened and the lion stepped out.

"So, a challenger has finally reached these lofty heights," it said. It had a rich, deep voice, but it wasn't quite as low as Bugzzy's. "My name is Flame Mane. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance. I do hope that you will be a tad more civilized than that outrageous monkey with a hammer who imprisoned me in here."

_Does he mean Bonkers?!_ thought Kirby. _The crazy ape I inhaled in Butter Building? If Flame Mane was beaten by Bonkers, this shouldn't be a very difficult fight._

"I know the tradition here in Titan Tower," continued Flame Mane. "I know I am supposed to tell you my life story. How I got trapped in here and all that tedious rubbish. Well, I say we should just get on with the fighting. Besides, once you've been trapped in here for this long, you just," his voice switched suddenly to a vicious growl, "can't wait to get out!"

They were now standing on an iceberg in the middle of a vast ocean. This world featured a perpetual sunset, which painted the sky a vast range of colors.

_Oh, so _that's_ how Bonkers beat him,_ thought Kirby. _This is one cat that I'm _sure_ doesn't like water. But there's something I still don't get._

"How do you know how long you've been in here?" asked Kirby. "You've been in hypersleep the whole time."

"Ah, well, to be honest, it is not much of a sleep," answered Flame Mane. "A day will pass in about a minute in here, but since some of us will obviously be trapped for years at a time, that can take quite a while. We can't move or open our eyes, so it is just blackness for an immensely long period of time."

Kirby started to feel sorry about leaving these guys in here, but it was either them or him and he had a world to save.

"Now let us fight so that I may at last be set free," finished Flame Mane. But he didn't move.

Silence.

"Aren't you going to attack?" asked Kirby.

"You make the first move," answered Flame Mane.

_If Bonkers pushed this guy off with a hammer, maybe that's what I need to get the job done,_ thought Kirby. He then summoned two Hammer abilities to become Huge Hammer Kirby!

Kirby looked back at Flame Mane to see just a flaming head in a gigantic ball of fire that was flying towards him.

Kirby leapt to the side, but not quickly enough. The fire around Flame Mane passed over him. Burning pain filled his body.

The Flame Mane fireball made a u-turn, heading back toward Kirby.

Kirby wound back with his Huge Hammer and let fly at Flame Mane's face. Flame Mane, however, veered sharply away, spinning around and planting his feet in the ground. The excess fire around him was extinguished. He was now back to just a flaming mane and tail tuft.

Kirby swung his hammer back around. Flame Mane dodged and then pounced, grabbing Kirby in his teeth and biting down.

The Huge Hammer had flown upward in the air and now it landed with a _crack_ down on Flame Mane's mane, making him spit out Kirby, who grabbed the Huge Hammer again.

Before Kirby could do anything, Flame Mane sliced him with his claws.

_Slash! BOOM!_

Kirby smashed Flame Mane right in the face with the Huge Hammer.

Flame Mane skidded to a halt as best he could on the ice. That hit had blown him backwards. He then jumped high into the air.

Kirby dodged just in time. Flame Mane came crashing down onto to ice right where Kirby had been standing.

A few cracks appeared in the ice around Flame Mane.

This gave Kirby an idea.

Kirby slammed the Huge Hammer into the ground with as much force as he could muster.

_BOOM!!!_

Flame Mane had already gotten up, but that blow nearly made him fall over again.

Noises of shattering ice started coming from the iceberg. It was breaking apart.

Wait. No. It was simply splitting down the middle! The two pieces ripped apart and started floating away from each other. The two combatants were being separated.

"Well, _this_ is a fine mess you have gotten us into!" shouted Flame Mane. "How do you expect us to finish the match _now_?"

"Like this!" yelled Kirby, throwing the Huge Hammer at Flame Mane's half of the iceberg.

The Huge Hammer smashed into the ice under Flame Mane's feet, sending a huge chunk of the iceberg crashing down into the sea. Flame Mane went with it.

"No! Nooooo!" he roared as he fell into the water. He then bobbed back up again, flailing around. "I can't _sputter_ swim! This _gasp_ is how I was _gag_ beaten _wheeze_ last time!!! WHAT A CRUEL _choke_ WORLD..."

Flame Mane sunk beneath the surface.

VICTORY #6!

As Kirby climbed the spiral staircase, he told himself over and over: _Last one. Last one. You can do it. Don't sweat. You've gotten this far. Just one Titan left. Last one. Last one._

The final Titan was a strange creature indeed. He had no limbs! Yet his head hovered above his torso and his hands beside it. His torso itself hovered above his feet.

His head had a huge bulbous nose and orange hair similar to Knuckle Joe's. His skin was peachy like that of Joe's second form. His hands were hidden in large white gloves and his shoes were yellow with white soles. Lastly, his torso was purple, but it had a white circle in its center and a red bandana at its top. If you included the hair, this final combatant was three times Kirby's height.

The thing opened its eyes and pushed its way out of the glass case.

"So, somebody's finally made it all the way up here," he said. "You're the first challenger I've had since I got stuck in this place."

Kirby just stood there and stared. How could his body parts move like that: without any support?

"Well, you should know," continued the thing, "that I'm a big hero back where I come from. I came all the way here to the Starred System from a quarter of the way around the Milky Way galaxy: the Luminshot System. I came to climb this here Titan Tower. I knew I could do it. I had defeated the most terrible scum in my solar system, guys like Razorbeard and Mr. Dark, and figured the competition here in Dreamland would be a piece of cake to lick! I got close. So close! But now here I am, the savior of the Luminshot System, the great and powerful Rayman, trapped in this godforsaken room, waiting for some battle-worthy challenger to come my way! So, now that you're finally here, I shall destroy you in combat, get released from this Tower, and fly the ship I came in back to my home planet."

"Sorry, Rayman," said Kirby, snapping out of his entranced state, "but _I'm_ the hero of _this_ solar system and if Dark Matter, the entity I'm fighting, gets out of hand, it'll probably take over the entire galaxy! There's no _way_ I'm going to let you win. The fate of the universe depends on me getting out of here!"

"I don't know who this 'Dark Matter' guy is," retorted Rayman, "but when I get out of Titan Tower, these fists of mine will show _him_ a thing or two!"

The setting of the final battle was a huge circular arena. The ground was dirt and the structure was stone. You might have called it a gladiator's arena and that's exactly what it was, but not a single seat was filled.

Looking up into the night sky, Kirby could see three moons among the stars.

One of Rayman's hands started to move in small, fast, vertical circles. Then the fist suddenly to flew at Kirby like a bullet.

Kirby had anticipated an attack, so he managed to dodge. The fist stopped in mid-air a ways past him and then flew back to Rayman. It subsequently reverted back to its hovering state beside him.

"Another, punching-oriented battle?" said Kirby. "I don't know how you got all the way up here. But I'll tell you how _I_ did it."

"How?" asked Rayman. "I _was_ wondering."

"I can summon abilities to aid me," answered Kirby, summoning Fighter and Beam abilities to become Fighter Energy Kirby!

"Really?" said Rayman. "Well, you call that a transformation?" He was eying Kirby's white headband. "I can do _much_ better. You see, I can summon abilities too."

"Huh?" said Kirby.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" shouted Rayman at the stars. "GREEN!"

A green ball appeared on each side of Rayman. Rayman slid each of his hands through the balls. The balls then became metal and wrapped around his hand. His fingers now stuck out of green metal plates. Also, his hair color and torso each turned green. His shoes became green with red soles. His bandana stayed red and the ring on his torso turned yellow. Only his skin and gloves remained the same color.

Kirby (astonished but not showing it) threw a punch. The Fighter Energy orb shot off his fist towards Rayman, who threw a punch himself, sending a miniature tornado flying at Kirby. The Fighter Energy orb and the tornado met. The tornado was destroyed, but the orb reversed direction, hitting Kirby in the face.

Kirby fell on his back, but immediately got up again. Rayman punched to release another tornado. Kirby dodged it. Rayman fired two more, one from each hand. Kirby managed to dodge one of them, but was enveloped by the other.

Instead of being flung out at a high speed (as Kirby had anticipated), the tornado simply caused Kirby to spin on the spot and lose his ability. But when the tornado had disappeared and Kirby looked back at Rayman, he saw that the limbless monster had grown in size to about ten times his original height! Wait, no... It wasn't that Rayman had gotten bigger... It was that Kirby had gotten smaller!!! Those tornados were more powerful than Kirby thought!

"You would have liked to win this match, wouldn't you?" said Rayman as he towered over Kirby. "Well, I'm afraid that here I'm going to have to put my foot down... literally!"

Before Rayman could squish Kirby, however, Kirby summoned two stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby! Now once again in the form of a stone tower, Kirby equaled Rayman's height (he was, after all, still shrunk).

For some unknown reason, Rayman's powerup disappeared, causing him to transform back into his original colors.

Rayman wound up (moving his fist in that vertical circle). His fist got faster and faster. Then it started to shine a golden color while spinning at an incredible pace.

Rayman released the punch, smashing his fist into Monolith Kirby.

It had no effect. Rayman clutched his hand in pain, hopping slightly. Then he looked at Monolith Kirby again and his eyes widened.

Rayman started to run away.

This was a smart move, as that was when the shrinking effect of the tornado wore off.

Monolith Kirby now towered over Rayman, but as he was unable to move in this form, Kirby trashed his ability.

Now that Kirby and Rayman were far apart, Kirby summoned Beam and Spark abilities to become Laser Kirby!

Kirby took aim and fired madly at Rayman, but not one shot managed to connect with any of Rayman's six body parts. They would always fly through the space where his neck should have been or through his nonexistent limbs, missing his torso by inches, sometimes centimeters.

Rayman jumped into the air and twirled his two waves of hair like the blades of a helicopter. While floating slowly downwards, he wound up his fists and hit Kirby twice in the face.

In the few moments while Kirby was stunned, Rayman raced at him and pounded into him with his fists. The blows were coming as fast as bullets from a machine gun.

Kirby frantically reasoned that he wanted to block Rayman's blows and then stab him with something. This reasoning caused him to summon Fighter and Needle abilities to become Spike-Knuckle Kirby! Metal spikes poked their way out of Kirby's headband and fists.

Kirby blocked one of Rayman's fists with a punch. Rayman painfully retraced his hand when the metal thorns on Kirby's fist sunk into it.

Kirby rushed at Rayman and threw a series of punches, but each one met nothing more than air as Rayman used his incredible limblessness to dodge repeatedly.

Rayman jumped into the air again, flipped over Kirby, and ran over to a wall at the edge of the circular stadium.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" he shouted. "RED!"

Two gigantic mechanical hands floated down to Rayman. Each was slightly bigger than Kirby and featuring nasty spikes on each joint. They were red with unpainted metal fingers. A latch opened in the palm of each and Rayman inserted his hands inside. Rayman then made a fist with each mechahand. His hair color and bandana each turned blue. His shoes became red with blue soles. His torso turned red and the ring on his torso turned yellow.

_Uh-oh,_ thought Kirby, trashing his ability.

Rayman moved slowly toward Kirby, winding up. Kirby backed slowly away, getting ready to dodge.

Rayman let fly with both fists. Kirby miraculously managed to dodge each one. They soared past him and crashed into the circular wall around the floor of the stadium. This wall turned out to be solid rock, but each fist still made a crater-like punch in it. It would have certainly hurt Kirby a lot had he been in their way.

The mechahands returned to Rayman and he wound them up again.

Kirby inflated and flew upward, retreating to the seats above the floor of the stadium. He then summoned Stone and High-Jump abilities to become Meteor Kirby!

Kirby transformed into a large rock that threw itself at Rayman, who dodged. But, in dodging, Rayman stopped winding up and therefore had to start over again.

And he did. Rayman spun his mechahands until they shined reddish-gold. But just as he punched into Meteor Kirby (a blow that would have shattered it) his powerup expired. He transformed back into his original colors and the mechahands disappeared, causing his punch into Meteor Kirby to be as painful as punching a brick wall with his bare fist.

Once more Rayman clutched his hand while hopping.

Kirby trashed his ability, coming to an understanding of what had just happened. Rayman's abilities have a time limit!

Kirby summoned Needle and Cutter abilities to become Snare Kirby!

"This time, I won't miss," he said quietly to Rayman.

Kirby swung hard with one of his huge spiky arms.

Rayman quickly grabbed his own torso with both hands and held it over his head. Kirby's arm then swung through the now empty space between Rayman's head and feet.

Rayman threw his torso at Kirby, who took it in the face. The torso then returned to Rayman's middle. Kirby had lost his ability.

Kirby, his face still throbbing, inflated. He then retreated once more to the seats. Now that Kirby had seen Rayman jump a number of times, he knew that Rayman could not jump high enough to reach the seats. As for Rayman's helicopter hair, it was only good for slowing his pace as he fell.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" shouted Rayman. "ORANGE!"

One of Rayman's hands turned into an orange-and-blue rocket. Then his hair color and bandana each turned blue. His shoes became orange with blue soles. His torso turned orange and the ring on his torso stayed white.

Rayman fired the rocket at Kirby, who dodged. The rocket, however, turned back around. Rayman was controlling it somehow.

Kirby summoned Cutter ability to become Cutter Kirby! Kirby threw a cutter boomerang, slicing the rocket and causing it to explode. The boomerang was destroyed and Cutter Kirby turned back into regular Kirby.

The hand that had been inside the rocket returned to Rayman. His powerup had been destroyed along with the rocket.

"Ha-ha, Rayman!" shouted Kirby as triumphantly as he could with his face still pounding. "You'll never get me up here!"

"Oh, yeah?" retorted Rayman. He then shouted, "SUMMON POWERUP! YELLOW!"

A yellow helmet with black "shades" appeared on Rayman's head. Then two real helicopter blades unfolded out of its top. His hair was now hidden, but his torso turned yellow. His shoes became yellow with purple soles. His bandana turned purple and the ring on his torso turned orange.

Rayman jumped into the air and the blades automatically started to spin, propelling him higher. Then he suddenly tilted horizontal, with his head towards Kirby, and made the blades increase their speed.

Kirby leapt out of the way as Rayman sped at him. Rayman subsequently crashed into the seats and lost his powerup.

"I've never fought anyone as annoyingly good at dodging as you before," said Rayman, getting up.

"Nor I you," replied Kirby.

Rayman shouted to summon the red powerup again.

Kirby was about to jump over him and turn into Monolith Kirby, but now that Rayman had the mechahands again, he didn't think that was such a good idea.

Rayman started to wind up and Kirby jumped back down to the ground.

Rayman jumped into the air over Kirby and twirled his hair to come slowly down while still winding up.

"Dodge this!" he shouted, shooting his fully wound up mechahand (in a fist) down at Kirby, who simply jumped to the side.

That, however, was a big mistake. The fist kept going and hit the ground, creating a huge earthquake.

The structure of the stadium held steady, but rocks all over blasted themselves upward, out of the ground.

Kirby was hit by about seven or eight of those rocks. It stung. Not only that, but the earthquake had also, well, shaken him up.

Kirby, disoriented, weaved his way over to the wall. Luckily, that earth-shattering blow had tired Rayman out. He was now standing (without a powerup) in the center of a large crater in the middle of the stadium.

Kirby snapped back into his senses. He inflated and flew upward. But he didn't stop at the seats. He flew all the way up above the huge pillars on the rim of the back seats. Above these pillars, he stood on the circular ring of a platform that they held up around the stadium.

Rayman used another round of the yellow powerup to reach the seats. Then, after it expired, he shouted, "SUMMON POWERUP! BLUE!"

Rayman inserted the fingers on each of his hands through the two oval-shaped rings that appeared, one on either side of him. Also, his hair color and torso each turned blue. His shoes became blue with green soles. His bandana turned green and the ring on his torso turned yellow.

Rayman threw a punch at Kirby, but this time a jaw-like metal thing shot out of the ring on his hand. It remained connected to the ring by a long chain.

Kirby dodged and the jaw clamped down on the platform he was standing on. It had sharp "teeth" at its front.

Rayman retracted the chain, pulling himself up by the jaw. He swung up and landed on the platform with Kirby. The jaw then released the platform and folded back inside the ring on Rayman's right hand.

"You can't run from me, Kirby," said Rayman as if the whole concept of running away was preposterous. "My powerups can take me anywhere."

Rayman shot a jaw-on-chain at Kirby.

Kirby dodged, but the jaw turned toward him like a homing missile.

Kirby dodged as best he could, but a misstep caused him to fall off the high platform.

The jaw snapped onto Kirby's foot as he fell, pulling Rayman down as well.

The pair landed in the seats below. The jaw was still painfully clamped on Kirby's foot. But, as if that wasn't enough, Rayman got up and pressed a button on the ring that the chain led into.

A bright blue stream of voltage sped down the chain and into the jaw, electrocuting Kirby. Then Rayman did it again.

And again.

Kirby's body began to smolder and smoke; but just when Kirby thought he couldn't take any more shocks, Rayman's powerup expired.

Kirby lay panting between the seats, unsure how badly the electricity had scorched him.

Rayman punched him, sending him flying into an aisle between the seats.

Kirby turned to face Rayman, who wound up his other fist.

As Rayman fired, Kirby executed his one last plan. He inhaled.

Rayman's fist entered Kirby's mouth and Kirby swallowed without gaining an ability.

"My hand!" gasped Rayman in astonishment. He looked at the spot where his fist would have normally come back to. Then he looked at Kirby. The he looked back at his nonexistent hand. He looked back and forth.

Silence.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HAND?!" shouted Rayman, winding up his other.

Kirby inhaled that one as well when it flew at him.

Rayman's eyes were wide. He wound up a foot now, kicking Kirby.

Kirby fell on his back. The kick had come as a surprise. But, getting up, he now took a deep, deep breath and Rayman began to slowly slide towards Kirby's open mouth.

"No! NOOOO!" shouted Rayman. Then he shrieked in desperation, "SUMMON POWERU"

Kirby swallowed and Rayman was gone.

VICTORY #7! TITAN TOWER COMPLETE!

_d00d_

NOTE ABOUT RAYMAN (not part of actual chapter): You may be wondering why I chose to make the only game crossover in this fic be one with UbiSoft's Rayman series. Well, I'll tell you. I've always really liked Rayman games. Did you know that Rayman 2 featured the best graphics available for the N64? Anyway, while the games are good, they lack a progressive storyline that builds throughout the series. Not only that, but Rayman didn't appear in Super Smash Brothers Melee (which I'm writing about next). Those two facts combined say that I'll never be able to make a fan fic about him. So, this was the only way to write about him. I think it turned out pretty well.


	73. Return of the Goons

**Chapter 73: Return of the Goons**

"I came as soon as you called. What is your wish this late in the game? You have already possessed half the planet."

"Do you perchance remember a particularly annoying octopus by the name of Chuchu?"

"Hmm... Let's see... Ah, yes. I _do_ remember killing an annoying octopus."

"What are you talking about? Chuchu is in this bag right here!"

"_Oh._ Um... Oh, right. I killed a _squishy_. A _squid_. Not an octopus. Yeah, it was really annoying me on those pinball tables. It kept grabbing my ball."

"Shut up. As I was saying, this octopus has been traveling with Kirby, helping him with his quest. That is, she has until now. But after they were separated, Chuchu managed to ingest the last remaining piece of the star rod."

"And you want me to get it out, eh?"

"Yes. I must possess her body again. It is one of the best fighting forces in Dreamland. Besides, simply destroying her would release the shard anyway."

"I'll get right on it."

****

****

The Meta Clan arrived back at the Meta Base (on Mecheye) in celebration. Kirby was gone. Now only Dark Matter remained.

But somehow, Meta Knight and Escargoon did not join in the festivities (which are unimportant to the storyline). Meta Knight always took time to reflect after a mission, no matter if it failed or succeeded. Escargoon had never been on a mission and had never been given a real sense of accomplishment after doing anything other than inventing or constructing. Escargoon decided to stand next to Meta Knight as the warrior leaned against a wall away from the party.

"Escargoon," said Meta Knight, starting up a conversation, "I heard that you were working on something in the cargo car while we were trying to kill Kirby. Might I ask what that was?"

"Oh, that?" answered Escargoon. "I was actually working on two projects simultaneously. The first was, in fact, a Dark Matter serum."

"Interesting..."

"Yes, Sir Meta Knight. I'm really close on this one. I figure that a Dark Matter vaccination should work, effectively protecting us from possession. Once it has been injected into the blood stream and eliminated by the mind, that mind will be able to instantly repel any other Dark Matter interference."

"That sounds risky. Are you sure the recipient will suffer no brain damage?"

"I am _positive_. But if any does occur, the sum of the brain cells disturbed will be so small as to be negligible. In fact, I'm getting quite excited about this. Maybe I should go back to the ship and continue to work on it. I may have it done by morning."

"Really? Excellent. By the way, what time is it?" Meta Knight had noticed that Escargoon was wearing a watch.

Escargoon had been wearing that watch since after the war. It showed a large, yellow star-shape in the center, around which moved a red dot that signified the sun. What did you expect? In the Starred System, time is measured by how far the sun is around Pop Star, the largest planet in the system. Starting at the top of the star, the "points" are numbered clockwise, as are the "indents".

"It's four and third points, Sir Meta Knight," answered Escargoon.

That meant that the sun had traveled three-fifths of the distance between the fourth indent and the forth point. Everything time-wise was measured in fives. The official time of "dawn" has always been when the sun reaches the fifth point.

"Yeah, I should get back to work," continued Escargoon. "I don't need sleep. Those Peppy Tonics keep me healthy without it."

"Would you mind if I sampled one of those?" asked Meta Knight. "I have some business that I would like to get done by morning myself."

"What kind of business?"

"That is not your concern."

"Ah. Well, if it's none of my business, I'll just get the Peppy Tonic."

****

****

Late that night... well, actually it was already late that night when Meta Knight retreated to his quarters to remove his mask and drink the energizing Peppy Tonic. Anyway, Meta Knight then ventured back over to the computer room where he had ordered Yuki from NightMare Enterprises. Another monster was required.

"Hey there, MK," said the sales guy from the huge computer screen. "How's Yuki treating ya?"

"Yuki was assassinated by Kirby, the Star Warrior that we have just destroyed after striving to do so for an annoyingly long time," answered Meta Knight.

"I am both pleased and sorry to hear that, MK. Are you back for another? Nightmare has been in communication with us and that means that you have obviously not gotten around to destroying Dark Matter. He thinks you have accepted defeat, but..." he leaned closer to the screen and spoke softly, "I don't think I believe that." The sales guy grinned.

"I know you're just in this business for money," replied Meta Knight, "so let's cut to the chase."

"Hold on there, MK," interrupted the sales guy, backing away from the screen, arms stretched out wide. "You haven't allowed me to tell you that we have a special today. You can buy one monster and get another of equal or lesser value half-off! That means that you could buy our most powerful monster and then get any other one you want at half the price!"

"You have a most powerful monster?" Meta Knight was intrigued. "What is it?"

The sales guy grinned. His plan had worked.

"This behemoth behind me is a real heavyweight by the name of Masher," he said.

"What monster behind you?" replied Meta Knight. The background behind the sales guy was nothing but dark sienna.

"This is his foot, MK," said the sales guy. "You wouldn't believe how big he is even if I told you."

Meta Knight raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

"And he wields a super-powerful mace," continued the sales guy. "One of its spikes would be about twice your size!"

"I'll take it," said Meta Knight softly. He didn't care if he had been lured into buying; Masher sounded indestructible. In fact, he just had to ask, "What is he made out of?"

"Super-steel alloy," answered the sales guy. "A favorite of those who like strong infantry tanks."

"Hmm," said Meta Knight. Super-steel was good, but it wasn't indestructible. "I'll still accept the monster, but I need something indestructible to go with it."

"You got it, MK. I believe I have just what you're looking for. Meet Captain Stitch." A gordo floated over in back of the sales guy, but this was no ordinary gordo. Its body and spikes were four times the size of those on a regular one, but its eyes were the same size (and to make them even smaller, they were half-closed).

Meta Knight had never seen a gordo before, so he asked the first thing that came to his mind: "What is he made out of?"

"Super-steel and iridium alloy," answered the sales guy. "Non-conductive, magnetized to repel gravity, and... most importantly... one hundred percent indestructible!"

Captain Stitch did not move. It glared at Meta Knight, its eyes still half-closed. It looked a lot more menacing than the marginally-cute gordos.

"Deal," said Meta Knight.

Suddenly, an alarm went off: a wailing blast that repeated every few seconds with the accompaniment of red light.

"Is there a problem?" asked the sales guy.

Meta Knight just stood there. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"Commence download!" he shouted, rushing out the door. "You bill me this time! I'll pay as soon as I get it!"

"OK, MK," said the sales guy. "By the way, Masher will have to be sent to a location that can accommodate it. Is there anywh Come back, Sir! We're not finished yet!"

Meta Knight rushed back.

"Send it to the green star!" he shouted before running away again. "You'll find it!"

****

****

Meta Knight rushed to the spaceship dock. The rest of the Meta Clan was already there (except for Escargoon, who was still in the cargo car and therefore unable to hear the alarm).

"What's going on?" asked Meta Sword. "What's this alarm for?"

"Yeah," said Meta Blade. "We were just about to get some well-deserved sleep."

"You're not being fair," said Meta Chain.

"Too... tired..." rumbled Big Wheelie.

"This place has never had an alarm _before_!" hissed Meta Lance.

All the Meta Clan began complaining at once.

"Kirby has reached the top of Titan Tower," interrupted Meta Knight.

What followed was a shocked silence, other than the still-wailing alarm.

"But..." stammered Meta Axe, "he can't... I mean, he won't... be able to... get any of It out of there."

"Barely any," answered Meta Knight, "but that is of no importance. I assure you that It is safe, but now we are not. Kirby can now exit Titan Tower. Sasuke, ready another arsenal ship. We must leave at once."

****

****

****

NOTE TO THE READER: Sorry about the short chapter, but now that school's over, you should be seeing more frequent updates! Yeah, I really gotta get moving here. As it turns out, a lot more people are reading this than I thought! I can't disappoint my fans, so just know that you're the ones that keep me going. Thanks for all the great reviews. GameTrekker out!


	74. It Takes Two

**Chapter 74: It Takes Two**

Gold.

Lots of gold.

Kirby just couldn't believe how much gold there was.

Some treasure... I mean, gold!

Gold.

This gigantic room was filled with nothing but...

No one could possibly want so much...

It was just an unbelievably large amount of...

...gold.

Before now, Kirby had never known why King Dedede liked it so much. It shined so bright. But Kirby was unaware that the room he was standing in was Meta Knight's secret treasury.

Long ago, before Meta Knight had found Galaxia, before the Meta Clan had consisted of more than three people (Meta Knight, Meta Sword and Meta Blade), Meta Knight had gone on a short excursion that led him to Titan Tower. Confident, he scaled the great pillar. When he had beaten all seven Titans and gotten to the top, Galaxia awaited him. Years later, when he had acquired an obscene amount of wealth, he scaled Titan Tower again and set up a teleportation system at its top. Meta Drone had designed it. It could only transport inanimate objects, but Meta Knight used it to store his gold at the top of Titan Tower, where he figured no one would find it.

It had been a good plan until now.

After stuffing some gold inside his mouth and locating the "exit" (a hole in the wall), Kirby left the room.

He immediately found himself back outside Titan Tower in the midst of the Dark Cloud.

****

****

The "green star" is actually not a star at all. It is simply an asteroid that is surrounded by a gigantic sphere of light-absorbing magic. From the outside, it looks like a green star. From the inside, the sky is black and the world is dark. The Meta Clan discovered this asteroid long ago and they have set up a small, secret base there.

The "green star" serves three purposes. 1) The Meta Clan can hide there when need be (but need has never been). 2) If a particularly large monster is required from NME, it can be sent there. 3) The other end of the teleportation system resides there, making it the place where Meta Knight can access his gold.

The new arsenal ship (onto which Escargoon's cargo car had been moved) landed in the "green star". Awaiting them were Captain Stitch and Masher.

Masher was big. Masher was _really _big! Masher was so insanely huge that Meta Knight could not see its top when standing next to it. Masher's main body was cylindrical. Instead of legs, it had the large feet common in most residents of Dreamland. On its front was a large grey plus sign. Its arms and hands were normal looking, but it held a huge chain in them, on the end of which was a mind-bogglingly huge, spiked mace. Its head was a flat cylinder, smaller in diameter than the main body. In the front of the head, there was a black space, which presumably contained a mechanical eye. A single silver spike topped its head. The entire monster was colored dark sienna, except for the chain and mace, which were black, and the spikes, which were silvery. As a finishing touch, it wore (attached to its shoulders) a long, dark blue cape.

Sasuke had to fly the arsenal ship up around Masher in order for Meta Knight to examine the colossus. Kirby would not be able to best this one. But there was one problem...

"How are we going to get this thing to Dreamland?" asked Sasuke.

Meta Knight commanded Sasuke to land the ship. Then the two stepped out to talk with the other members of the Meta Clan.

Captain Stitch also floated over. He sat in the air slightly detached from the Meta Clan and glared at no one in particular. The expression in those eyes never changed.

But before the Meta Clan could figure out a way to move Masher, it spoke.

"Set destination," it said. It had a low and very robotic voice.

Meta Knight looked up. He could not see Masher's head from where he was standing.

"One mile east of Titan Tower," said Meta Knight, taking a guess at how to respond.

Masher responded by flattening. His main body got shorter and shorter without increasing its diameter. Then it released the contraction, springing into the air like a rocket and disappearing into the sky.

The Meta Clan all rushed into the arsenal ship to follow. Captain Stitch floated in as the sliding door was closing.

****

****

"_Gold?!_" exclaimed Gooey. "Okay, I am very impressed that you managed to scale Titan Tower, but all you got was a few coins of _gold?_"

"Yeah..." answered Kirby unhappily. "It's disappointing, isn't it? There sure was a lot of it, though."

"A lot of it?"

"Yeah. When I got to the top, there was this huge room filled with gold, but I could only take a little bit of it out."

"Huh. Well, I don't know what to say to that. You should have been able to bring out more."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I survived and managed to get out of there."

"I suppose so."

****

****

Meta Knight turned. Though he didn't show any outward sings of this at all, what he saw seriously startled him. Captain Stitch had been hovering right behind him. As Meta Knight returned Captain Stitch's glare, he couldn't help but think there was something odd about this monster. Something about that stare... What was going on in Captain Stitch's mind? Those eyes were penetrating.

Meta Knight turned back around, but he could feel Captain Stitch's continuous gaze. The monster seemed to be analyzing Meta Knight, watching every motion so as to calculate the warrior's character and intentions. Maybe this was part of how Captain Stitch accomplished his missions... or maybe he was trying, for reasons unknown, to intimidate Meta Knight.

Escargoon came down from the cargo car, interrupting Meta Knight's train of thought. He was holding a syringe.

"Wait!" he shouted. "This ship hasn't been coated with Dark Matter! If we fly into the Dark Cloud, we'll all be possessed!"

"Hmm," acknowledged Meta Knight. "I hadn't thought of that. Do you have the serum ready?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Escargoon held up the syringe, which contained a small amount of a pure black substance.

"This is it," he said. "Now, who's first?"

Predictably, no one answered. If an abnormally large snail offered to give you an injection of some highly potent substance, would you allow him to do it?

"Oh," said Escargoon, thinking he understood what was going on. "Don't worry. You won't have to share a needle. I have more up in the cargo car."

No one moved.

Silence.

"I'll go first," said Meta Knight finally.

"Ah, thank you," replied Escargoon. "It'll be quick. You won't feel a thing."

Meta Knight highly doubted that last remark, but held out his arm.

Escargoon was indeed quick. In, out. After all, there wasn't much to inject.

Escargoon stood back, saying, "That should do it. Feel anything?"

"No," answered Meta Knight bluntly, but then he suddenly wished he had said "yes". A strange darkness seemed to creep in front of his eyes. To the rest of the Meta Clan, it looked like Meta Knight was just standing there, staring into space.

The Dark Matter that now coursed through Meta Knight's veins was inactive, not connected to the big red eye, so the command it gave the brain was to shut down.

Meta Knight's body tensed, then his eyes closed and he fell on his side.

"Meta Knight!" shouted numerous members of the Meta Clan.

"What have you done to him?" hissed Meta Lance angrily at Escargoon.

"O-o-oh!" moaned Escargoon, backing away. "I guess I should use even less next time."

"There won't _be_ a next time!" yelled yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior.

"He's slipping into a coma!" shouted Meta Axe, who had run to Meta Knight's side.

"Get outta mah way, dude!" bellowed Meta Drone, pushing Meta Axe aside. "Defibrillation!"

Landing on top of Meta Knight, Meta Drone activated one of his electrical surges, sending powerful voltage streaming through Meta Knight's body.

Meta Knight's eyes opened wide and he coughed violently. A few faint wisps of black fog leaked from his mask.

"I thought you said it was safe, Escargoon," he said weakly.

****

****

_KABOOM!_

The earth-shattering blast knocked Kirby off his feet. Masher had landed.

Kirby watched in horror as Masher picked up its club again. This monster wasn't sent to fight _him_, was it?

And then Kirby saw the arsenal ship fly down next to it.

"Uh-oh," said both Kirby and Gooey together.

A warpstar flew down to Kirby's side.

"I'm detecting an abnormally large NME-certified monster within one mile of your current location," said Gooey. "I think it would be best now if you use this warpstar to make a quick getaway."

"Yeah, definitely," replied Kirby as he boarded the warpstar. In his haste, he smashed the maximum tomato on top of it. He then wiped off the warpstar with his hands, ate what remained of the maximum tomato, and flew away.

****

****

By the way, as it turns out, the Meta Clan had passed Masher during space travel in their haste to follow it, giving Escargoon time to don a spacesuit and coat the ship with Dark Matter before they entered Pop Star's atmosphere. The other members of the Meta Clan had flatly refused to take the Dark Matter "vaccine". Escargoon didn't take it either.

****

****

"Your next destination is Castle Dedede," said Gooey once Kirby had put considerable distance between him and Masher.

"Why?" asked Kirby. "Isn't that, sort of, Dark Matter's base?"

"Yes, and you must infiltrate this stronghold. Why? Simply put, you need to find Chuchu again."

Kirby groaned and said, "Why did she have to eat the shard? I could have gotten it from Marx myself. But why Castle Dedede?"

"You've been saying the word 'why' a lot lately, Kirby," commented Gooey. "Anyway, my instincts tell me that the Meta Clan freed Chuchu right into Marx's, or Dark Matter's, waiting hands and Castle Dedede is where Dark Matter has been taking all its prisoners. Remember? All your friends were originally trapped in there."

"Oh yeah." Kirby shivered. Suddenly this mission sounded a lot more difficult than before. He wasn't sure if he had the courage to go back inside that castle.

****

****

"Target not identified," reported Masher after scanning the area around Titan Tower.

"Um, Sir," said Meta Axe.

"What?" spat Meta Knight. He wasn't in a particularly good mood.

"Sir," continued Meta Axe calmly, "I don't think Kirby is really an issue anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sir, now that you are immune to Dark Matter, we could simply storm Castle Dedede where the eye resides and then have you get out of the ship to kill it. Dark Matter will never see it coming."

"Whoa," interjected Meta Drone. "Like, tubular plan, dude."

Meta Knight considered this option for a moment.

"Captain," he said. "Set a course for Castle Dedede."

****

****

The warpstar took out a wall to get Kirby in. It now hovered above a staircase, which led up to the left and down to the right.

"Do I want to go up or down?" asked Kirby.

"It's easy to go up," answered Gooey, "so try going down."

"Okay..." Kirby traveled down the stairs, still on his warpstar. Somehow, he felt it would be unsafe to dismount.

The staircase went a long way down. Eventually, a door led off to the left. Kirby opened it and flew through.

Kirby immediately realized that he was down almost to dungeon level and what he saw was greatly disturbing.

Dark Matter had made this part of Castle Dedede into a factory, with an assembly line worked by all the possessed Dreamlanders. Never stopping, they were forced against their no-longer-existent will to slowly put together... what looked like electric chairs (something that Dreamland didn't have).

_No,_ thought Kirby, preoccupied (to put it lightly) with the condition of his friends. _This is terrible._

Luckily, the Dreamlanders did not notice him. It was as if they were on autopilot.

****

****

Captain Stitch turned and floated over to the air lock chamber where it could exit.

"Sir," said Meta Sword. "I think our sharp friend wants to be let out."

"That reminds me of something," commented Meta Blade.

"Then let him out," said Meta Knight. "I don't understand this monster. Maybe it would be best that we leave him to his own devices."

Once Captain Stitch had left, the Meta Clan watched him go through a hole in the side of Castle Dedede.

"I'm starting to regret buying that one," said Meta Knight.

"Oh!" interrupted Meta Blade. "I remember now! It was Tac who used to do that. Remember how he could never sit still in a ship? We always had to let him in and out. Don't you remember that? It was annoying, wasn't it?"

Some of the Meta Clan expressed their agreement.

"Have you found the eye yet, Sasuke?" asked Meta Knight.

"Sorry, Sir," answered Sasuke. "Not yet. Still scanning."

"Captain," said Meta Knight, "we are to land on the spot closest to the eye outside Castle Dedede as soon as it is found. From there, we shall make our move."

****

****

"What the-" Kirby shrieked, spinning around. "How did you sneak up behind me like that?!"

Predictably, Captain Stitch made no answer. It simply glared at Kirby, hovering in the air. He was about three times Kirby's size.

"What do you want?" asked Kirby nervously.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Gooey.

Kirby took a picture of Captain Stitch, who still hadn't moved.

Gooey gasped.

"This is a monster from NightMare Enterprises!" he said. "His name is Captain Stitch and I have no info on him whatsoever. Well... except for his name of course."

"Talk later," said Kirby, closing the connection. "It's time to fight."

_This should take care of him,_ thought Kirby, summoning Bomb ability to become Bomb Kirby!

Kirby threw five bombs, which all hit Captain Stitch in the face. But they had no effect. Captain Stitch continued to hover and stare.

Kirby summoned Fire ability to become Firework Kirby! But fireworks didn't hurt it either.

Nor did lightning from Aura, or the light-saber from Darth, or dynamite from Dynamite, or ninja-stars from Ninja, or the huge mallet from Huge Hammer, or the spikes from Snare, or the fumes from Melt! Kirby tried about twenty abilities before giving up.

Captain Stitch continued to hover and stare.

Then Kirby's memory sparked. Captain Stitch looked just like an enlarged gordo! (Except for the smaller eyes in comparison to its body.) Gordos were indestructible, so this guy must be too!

"Okay," said Kirby to Captain Stitch. "Well, if you're not going to fight back, let's just call this match a draw. I'll be on my way!"

Kirby turned his warpstar around and started to fly away, but suddenly Captain Stitch was right in front of him! No matter where he turned Captain Stitch flew to block him.

_Uh-oh,_ thought Kirby.

****

****

"Found it," announced Sasuke. "We should land down there." He pointed at an area of the Castle.

"Excellent," said Meta Knight. "Captain!"

Captain Birdbrain landed the ship.

Immediately, laser guns popped out everywhere on the castle walls and began firing at the arsenal ship.

Captain Birdbrain swore loudly, took off again and activated the shields. Eventually, the lasers stopped coming and the guns retracted. The Captain then turned off the shields.

"That went well," said Meta Sword sarcastically.

"What do we do now?" hissed Meta Lance.

"Set target," said Masher from outside.

Silence.

Meta Knight hesitated and then said, "Castle Dedede."

"Target acquired," replied Masher. "Demolition mode activated."

Captain Birdbrain reengaged the shields.

****

****

Kirby tried using an old trick. He started going in one direction, but then quickly sped in another, yet somehow Captain Stitch had seen it coming. It was as if his glaring eyes were reading Kirby's mind.

Kirby was getting really frustrated and he knew that Gooey couldn't help him.

"Come on!" he shouted. "Are you going to fight me or what?"

Kirby suddenly heard a resounding crash from high above him.

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey, coming back on the phone. "That huge monster from near Titan Tower has followed you here and it's destroying Castle Dedede! Get out _now_!!! You don't want to be in there if it collapses!"

Kirby's eyes widened. So this was Captain Stitch's plan. He was trapping Kirby in there until the castle flattened them both, but Captain Stitch was indestructible, so he would simply push his way out once the castle had fallen.

Kirby did the only thing he could think of. He dismounted his warpstar and summoned two Stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby! As a monolith, he intended to wait until Castle Dedede collapsed around him.

Captain Stitch, however, rammed hard into Monolith Kirby, causing him to nearly topple over. Kirby lost his ability.

Though the monster's facial expression had not changed, Kirby knew he had somehow angered Captain Stitch.

Kirby jumped back on his warpstar as Captain Stitch flew at him. Kirby tried to escape, but Captain Stitch rammed into the warpstar, nearly throwing Kirby off of it.

Kirby spun around and rammed his warpstar into Captain Stitch, not damaging the monster at all.

Captain Stitch flew around, repeatedly trying to bash into Kirby, who dodged over and over.

Then each of Captain Stitch's spikes detached themselves from his body. The spikes suddenly pointed at Kirby and shot at him like bullets.

Kirby turned vertical and felt numerous thuds as the spikes hit his warpstar. When Kirby turned horizontal again, he noticed that his warpstar was shaking slightly. He looked beneath it and saw that all eight spikes were lodged in its underside.

_That's not good..._ thought Kirby.

_BLAM! _The warpstar exploded, blasting Kirby off. He hit a wall and fell to the ground in pain.

Eight new spikes appeared on Captain Stitch. Then Kirby had to jump out of the way as the monster tried to ram him again.

Captain Stitch shot his new spikes at Kirby, but Kirby inhaled them and shot them back at Captain Stitch. The spikes bounced off Captain Stitch and he subsequently grew a new set.

All the working Dreamlanders suddenly seemed to come to life. They turned in unison and walked single-file out the open door.

Kirby and Captain Stitch had no time to pay attention to this, however, as they were still in the midst of battle. Captain Stitch rammed into Kirby, sending him flying. Then the monster shot his spikes again.

Kirby, amazingly, managed to dodge the spikes. Then Kirby noticed something. At the spots where the spikes had detached themselves from Captain Stitch, they left behind circular holes (out of which new spikes would appear).

Wasting no time, Kirby summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby! Kirby raced over to Captain Stitch and thrust one end of his double light-saber into the hole on Captain Stitch's left side.

Captain Stitch's eyes opened wide and the color of his body slowly changed from black to bright red. Then he fell to the ground and did not get up again.

Kirby trashed his ability, causing the double light-saber to disappear. Then he ran as fast as he could out the door, up the stairs, out the hole he had made in the wall, and away from Castle Dedede. A warpstar greeted him outside.

Kirby ate the maximum tomato on it and flew high above the collapsing wreckage of Castle Dedede. Hopefully, Chuchu was not still inside.

****

****

The eye of Dark Matter rose from the ruins and Nightmare flew over to its side. Nightmare was holding a sack in one of his floating hands.

"If you thought that could destroy us," said Nightmare to the Meta Clan, "then you are sadly mistaken."

Meta Knight got out on top of the arsenal ship. His eyes were red and Galaxia was in its true form.

Dark Matter's eye widened. If it had had someone to speak for it, the speaker would have said, "What?! How did you become immune to possession?!"

Instead, Nightmare looked at Dark Matter and asked, "What's wrong?"

Meta Knight made a horizontal slice with his sword, firing a sword beam straight into Dark Matter's eye.

The gigantic eye was blasted back. Some of the essence around it was blown off. The eye shrunk to two-thirds its size.

For about a second, Nightmare didn't move. During that second, he wore an utterly surprised look on his face. But then he turned and flew quickly away to the east. In his haste, he dropped the bag he was carrying. Kirby caught it on his head.

The eye of Dark Matter took off as well. It headed north.

Meta Knight quickly got back inside the arsenal ship, which chased after the eye.

****

****

Kirby could hear a sizzling noise coming from inside the bag. He knew Chuchu was in there. He could feel her. But he had no idea what the sizzling sound was.

Kirby figured that it was imperative that he take Chuchu out of the Dark Cloud before opening the bag, so he flew northeast to Bubbly Clouds, which was high enough to be outside the Dark Cloud.

The stars were a sight for sore eyes, but Kirby had no time to gaze at them. He quickly undid the knot and opened the bag.

Chuchu fell out. Kirby turned her over to see that both her mouth and eyes were wide open. She was twitching slightly, seemingly paralyzed by something.

However, it was obvious what that something was. In the middle of her forehead, there was a bright white, diamond-shaped stone embedded into her skin. White smoke was slowly issuing from it. That was what was making the sizzling sound.

Horrified, Kirby sprung into action. He summoned Bomb and Cutter abilities to become Ninja Kirby! Then he wedged his dagger under the white stone and levered it out.

As the stone fell to the ground, Kirby trashed his ability.

For a moment, the stone fizzled even louder, but then cracks started to form on it. Its outer layer fell off in pieces to reveal what lay inside, which was... the final star rod shard.

"Thanks, Kirby," wheezed Chuchu. Then she rolled over to let some blood trickle out of her mouth. Her head still had a diamond-shaped indentation on it.

"No," replied Kirby, picking up the shard. "Thank _you_."


	75. The Great Air Ride

NOTE TO THE READER: This is another one of those really long chapters that FanFiction.Net simply refuses to show breaks in. So, hopefully you'll do okay reading it. Enjoy! Oh, wait. One thing about Crystalline Waves (a place Kirby will visit in this chapter). No, this is not a fan-made location. It is the setting of Kirby's Wave Ride, which is a mini-game that will be appearing in the next Kirby release for GBA.

**Chapter 75: The Great Air Ride**

"At last! My latest project is compl- Ow! Dammit, Captain! Can't you fly this thing a little s- Ow! A little straighter!"

"Sorry, Escargoon," squawked Captain Birdbrain. "But tailing the %$#ing eye of Dark Matter is not %$#ing easy! Try not to take a #$% in your pants!"

Captain Birdbrain then turned sharply, causing the ship to go into a barrel roll. This sent everyone in the ship banging off the walls (except for the Captain himself, who seemed unaffected by all these sudden changes in gravitational direction).

"This is precisel- Ow!" continued Escargoon. "Precisely why I have been working o- Ow! On this current project! Ow!!! O-o-oh..."

The ship leveled out.

"What is this new project?" growled Meta Knight, hanging from an exposed bar on the ceiling.

"Originally," explained Escargoon, "I was working on this for a new plan, one that involved out-flying Kirby while he was on his warpstar, but now these machines will be better suited for chasing the eye of Dark Mat- Ow!"

Captain Birdbrain had started swerving again to keep up.

"If only this confounded thing could be flown straight!" grumbled Escargoon. "Then I'd b- Ow! Be able to show them to you!"

"Hold onto your masks, folks!" shouted Captain Birdbrain. "We're going up!"

"No!!!" protested everyone else, but then they were all thrown to the back of the ship as the Captain piloted them into a rapid vertical ascent.

"Congratulations, Star Warrior, you have assembled all seven pieces of the star rod. Now you can summon the Great Star Rod of Light at will. But be careful, Star Warrior. As the star rod shards are the source of your powers, you will lose them when the Great Star Rod of Light is summoned. You must once again consume the star rod for your powers to return. Your quest is nearing an end and the final confrontation is imminent. May you shine forth like a star."

"The message, like, replayed for you, didn't it?" asked Chuchu.

"Yeah," answered Kirby.

"So... What are you gonna, like, do about it?"

"About what?"

"The 'final confrontation'."

"Oh. I dunno. I guess if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen."

Chuchu smacked her forehead with one of her tentacles.

"Kirby," she continued, "you can now summon the 'Great Star Rod of Light'! All you have left to do is defeat Dark Matter. Soon this whole mess will be over! We gotta, like, _do_ something, _go_ somewhere. We gotta find the big eye and blow it to smithereens!"

Kirby suddenly realized something.

"Wait," he said. "What do you mean 'we'? I'm sorry to say this, but I think your part in this mission had been completed. You no longer have a star rod shard in you, so going into the Dark Cloud would cause Dark Matter to possess you. Maybe Gooey will be able to supply you with something that will get you far away from here, to another planet. Staying here with me will only lead to Dark Matter taking control of you again."

Chuchu looked like she was about to cry.

Suddenly, the eye of Dark Matter burst from the Dark Cloud about half a mile away. Following it was the arsenal ship. Both ship and eye turned to streak off to the southwest. The ship's turn actually consisted of tipping backwards to end up upside-down, but then it righted itself.

For a split-second, both Kirby and Chuchu stared with eyes wide. Then a warpstar flew down to Chuchu's side (Kirby already had one).

"On second thought," said Kirby quickly, jumping on his warpstar, "scratch all that. Let's go!"

Chuchu mounted her warpstar as well and they both flew off after the Meta Clan.

"If we continue in this direction," announced Sasuke, "we will eventually arrive at Sky Sands."

"Oh, no," said Meta Axe. "That place is a frozen wasteland at night."

"However, the sand is as hot as fire during the day," put in Yamikage.

"We're in a ship!" hissed Meta Lance. "What do we care about hot sand?"

"We don't," answered Sasuke, "but this ship cannot function properly in such cold as Sky Sands at night. Dark Matter does not care about temperature, so it is leading us there to die."

"Here are my air-riding machines," interrupted Escargoon. "There's one for each of you."

Escargoon motioned to eleven... things that were lined up in the back of the ship. Each one was pretty much the same size as the others. Each one also had a little sign in front of it that displayed its name and specs. The list is below. (Sign -- appearance.)

**Rocket Flyer. **Connect orb to body to charge. Charge all the way to go really, REALLY fast. -- The machine was pretty much triangular and looked like it was made of brown leather. There was a zipper down the middle and a small bit of the luminous blue inside could be seen on one of the three sides. Behind that side, there was a blue orb with three metal straps around it.

**Hover Board. **No charging. Flies by tilting. Excellent turning (also by tilting). -- It was completely flat. It was also completely black. It looked a bit like a skateboard without wheels. (No one in the Meta Clan was quite sure how it was supposed to fly.)

**Winged Flyer.** Push wings forward to charge. Pull wings back to release charge. Excellent at altitude adjustment. Do not ground. -- It was a deep, white triangle with "tail feathers" spreading out from the small side. On the other two sides were bird-like wings. The wing joints and "neck" were blue.

**Shadow Flyer. **Push wings forward to charge. Pull wings back to release charge. Razor-sharp wings cut enemies mid-flight! -- Another triangle. This one had thee spikes sticking out its back and bat-like wings on its forward sides. The whole thing was very flat and colored in swirls of dark magenta.

**Formula Flyer. **Pull side thrusters inward to charge. Push back out to release charge. Poor acceleration and turning, but no limit to maximum speed! -- A very light blue, long oval was the main body of this machine. Along its sides were two more ovals. These were smaller, white, and ended in rocket nozzles. The rocket ovals were connected near the back by a glass arch.

**Jet Flyer.** Insert bomb into rocket nozzle for instant charge. Excellent at altitude adjustment. Spikes on front allow for an impaling offensive attack. -- This one was black on the edges and light green everywhere else. Its front was divided into two scythe-like points and its back was round, featuring four wings that stuck out diagonally. Its rear end featured a rocket nozzle with fiery, glowing interior.

**UFO Capsule.** Sit inside. No charging. Moves wherever directed. -- It was an orange donut that had a tapering outside. Underneath was a metallic pad with three thrusters (much like those on Meta Drone). The driver would sit in the "donut hole", supported by the pad.

**Wagon Flyer.** No charging. Poor altitude adjustment. Excellent turning and acceleration. Above average top speed. Sturdy. -- Picture a pure pink moving truck. Now squash it lengthwise so that it's more box-shaped. That's pretty much it. There were two width-spanning handles on top (one in front and one in back). Tiny wings were positioned on its sides and two thrusters protruded from its back.

**Slick Flyer.** Spin to charge. Stop spinning to release charge. Only the boost made by the charge can change the direction the machine flies. -- It was a circular, purple pad in the middle with three pink, glowing balls floating around it. The pad seemed to be made out of hundreds of scarves.

**Turbo Flyer.** Pull side thrusters inward to charge. Push back out to release charge. Great speed. Careful of erratic turning and charging, both depending on speed. -- Sleek and red. This machine was marginally triangular, but curving in and out from the front to the flat crown-shape on its posterior. The front featured a white "nose" where a slot seemingly led into the contraption. Two thrusters floated near its back (one on either side). Each thruster was white in the middle and red on the sides. If you looked closely, you could see the word "TURBO" written on each thruster's outside side in painted flaming letters.

Note: I only listed ten out of eleven because there were two Hover Boards.

"I'll take one of the Hover Boards," said Meta Sword the moment he saw them.

"And I'll take the other," said Meta Blade.

"Wait just a moment," interrupted Meta Knight. "There are only eleven machines, yet there are sixteen of us."

"Well," said Escargoon, "_you_ have wings, so you don't need a machine. Meta Drone has thrusters, so he doesn't need one. The Captain has this ship. Sasuke must stay on this ship to direct the weapons. And, sorry Big Wheelie, but these machines can't accommodate wheels. Besides, your primary attack is driving over your opponent with your body. It'd be pretty pointless to have you on one of these. Anyway, that just leaves eleven people that need rides."

"We're nearing Sky Sands everybody!" interrupted Captain Birdbrain. "I'm gonna have to fly around this place, so choose your vehicles and get going!"

Yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior: "I call the Jet Flyer!"

Meta Lance: "The Shadow Flyer is mine!"

Yamikage: "The Winged Flyer shall be my ride."

Escargoon: "I'm goin' for speed today. Formula Flyer!"

Dekabu: "I take UFO."

Meta Axe: "I suppose the Slick Flyer is my choice."

Meta Chain: "Rocket Flyer, I guess."

Silver Kibble: "I accept my fate on the Turbo Flyer."

Silence.

Everybody looked at the last machine: the Wagon Flyer. Then they all looked at the person who still hadn't chosen one: the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General.

"So, buddy," said yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, "it looks like you're stuck with this piece-of-junk Wagon Flyer."

"Sounds good to me," replied the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General, hopping on the Wagon Flyer.

Everyone boarded their machines.

"I'll be up top," rumbled Big Wheelie. "Maybe I can help in some way if I ride on the roof of this ship."

The back dock hatch of the ship opened. Remember, they were above the Dark Cloud, so there was no risk of possession.

"Let's go!" shouted Escargoon and all the riders sped out into the night air.

The back dock hatch closed.

_Welcome back folks! Welcome to the second round of Dreamland racing! This time you're in for a very special treat. It's Dreamland's only Tour de Skies! In this race, you will see all of Dreamland's marvels of altitude landscaping, beginning with the infamous Sky Sands!_

_Sky Sands is a deadly environment. During the day, the sand is hot, sandstorms obscure your vision, mirages make you think there are three suns in the sky, and some sand can't even support weight! Step on unstable turf and you might find yourself falling toward the ground miles below! During the night, the air is frigid, the ground is frozen, and rocks can fall suddenly from the sky for no apparent reason! Better be on your toes, racers!_

_Instead of racing to capture Chuchu, who was an unmoving target in the last race, these racers are trying to destroy the eye of Dark Matter, which never stays put! Where will it go next? Only time will tell! _

_So, ON WITH THE RACE! Meta Knight soars into the lead with wings spread, but he's followed closely by that rocket-powered robot Meta Drone! Next come Meta Sword and Meta Blade, perfectly suited for those Hover Boards. There goes Yamikage, soaring high into the sky! My, that one sure wants a bird's eye view and what better machine than the Winged Flyer to get it with! Escargoon and Meta Chain linger behind. That Rocket Flyer takes a long time to charge, doesn't it Meta Chain? As for you Escargoon, you'll need a machine with much better acceleration to win this race! Kirby and Chuchu are both riding warpstars, but had a late start. They're even farther behind than Meta Chain and Escargoon! The rest of the riders are just getting the hang of their machines, flying in the area between Meta Drone and Escargoon. But wait! What's that explosion? It seems that yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior has shoved a bomb up the rocket nozzle of his Jet Flyer. Now look at that thing go!_

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaaaaa!" shouted yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior as he zipped up just past Meta Knight.

_And now the Poppy's in the lead! Keep using those bombs, O yellow one! _

_Now Dark Matter has entered a stone chasm! How will the other racers react? Wow! The Poppy has pulled upward, sailing over the cave ahead of Yamikage. Meta Knight and the others go right in! But beware, racers: sand leaks from the roof of this winding tunnel and you don't want to fly through a column of falling sand! Sand in your eyes is sure to impede your progress through those turns coming up. _

_Meta Knight passes through swiftly, dodging the sand with ease. So do Meta Drone, Meta Sword and Meta Blade. And there comes Meta Axe... Oh! Watch out! Meta Axe plows right through a column of sand! Steering on that Slick Flyer can be tough, eh Meta Axe? Now careful around the bend... Ooh! Meta Axe crashes into a wall, bounces, bounces off more walls... he can't see at all! It's just bounce, bounce, bounce! With no friction to slow his ride, he can't turn! Watch out! Whoa! Let's see that... in an instant replay. Slow motion!_

_Meta Axe is bouncing out of control... and then Meta Lance comes speeding along... They pass... and the left wing of Meta Lance's Shadow Flyer slices through one of the ribbons that makes up the body of Meta Axe's Slick Flyer. Meta Axe flips off of his machine as its body unravels. Meta Lance speeds away, unaware of what happened... and Meta Axe lands on the back of Dekabu's UFO Capsule. _

_Continuing with the race, Dekabu seems not to notice Meta Axe's presence. Now Escargoon has finally caught up to the action, but these tight turns have slowed him down tremendously. Looks like he'll have to build up speed all over again. The legendary Crazed Donut Hole General bounces off a few walls, but makes it to the other side without mishap, as does Silver Kibble. Kirby and Chuchu are just now entering Sky Sands. Whoa! Nice dodging Chuchu. Those random falling boulders can be devastating. And Meta Chain is still back at the beginning!_

"This thing takes a loooooooooong time to charge," grunted Meta Chain to himself.

_Entering another sandy stretch outside, yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior speeds into the lead! More bombs in the nozzle makes his machine go super-far! Flying in a vertical circle while inserting more bombs, the Poppy has caught up to the eye of Dark Matter! Now the question is: Can he stun the eye to win the race?_

_There he goes! Five bombs have been thrown in the eye's direction, but the eye closes before the explosions. What's this? Oh, no! Dark Matter has summoned a small army of minions onto the racecourse up ahead! What are they, you ask? Well, these creatures are referred to by the term N-Z and they are mindless annoyances that Dark Matter can produce to distract its enemies. However, the typical N-Z is unskilled at fighting and useless in a battle. For those of you who can't see, they look like dark-grey Dreamlanders with white feet. They also have pointy ears instead of arms._

_Well, the Poppy is barely distracted at all. He's throwing more bombs at the eye instead of concentrating on clearing a path through the N-Z army. An N-Z or two are impaled on his machine's spikes, but now they're becoming too numerous to ignore. Unfortunately, the Poppy has not landed a hit in the eye of Dark Matter. Winding up to throw another bomb, an N-Z knocks him over! The bomb goes up... and KABLOOIE! The explosion blasts the poor Poppy from his Jet Flyer. With a shriek, he misses the frozen turf and falls far below the sands! Looks like this is the end of yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior. It's a long way down from Sky Sands._

_Meta Knight _swerves_ out of the way as the flaming Jet Flyer comes tearing backwards past him. Now a boulder falls out of the sky and crushes the Jet Flyer beneath it! Meta Knight continues forward, using his sword to slice through every N-Z to get near him. Meta Drone flies over the N-Z army, as does Yamikage and Dekabu. Meta Sword and Meta Blade cut them up with spinning sword slices. _

"Bazooka engaged," said the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General in his alternate robotic voice.

_The legendary Crazed Donut Hole General seems to be bringing out some heavy artillery, blasting the N-Z army with a bazooka that protrudes from inside his body. Meta Lance is also having no problem dealing with these enemies. He holds his large trident ahead of him and plows right through! He impales 'em on each spike of the trident and slices 'em with the wings of his Shadow Flyer! Silver Kibble sears through them as well. Now there are so few left that Escargoon will probably have an easy time getting through when he gets there. _

_The eye has left Sky Sands! It is now heading southeast instead of southwest! Whoa! And Meta Chain has finally left the starting line!!! YOW! That's fast!_

Meta Chain's terrified scream performed a Doppler effect as he flew past the Meta Clan. He had missed the cave entirely. Somehow, he managed to turn and follow the eye, but Dark Matter had absolutely no idea what was going on when Meta Chain soared past it at a speed close to that of sound.

_Fast! _Too_ fast!!! Meta Chain! No! Don't dip! Oh, well. I tried to warn him folks, but Meta Chain has lost control of his machine and plummeted into the Dark Cloud. Looks like we won't be seeing any more of him in this race! _

_Now entering Beanstalk Park, the eye shows no sign of slowing down. Beanstalk Park is the area above Big Forest where huge plant stalks have grown to incredible heights. Certain flying animals find their home among these gravity-defying shoots. The racers will need good flyers that can adjust their altitude quickly in order to successfully pilot through this area, as there are many vines that connect the stalks, which can get in the way. _

_But Meta Knight doesn't seem to care about that. There goes another sword beam! He's using vertical sword beams to clear a path through the vines. And now Silver Kibble is using this path to catch up to him!_

"Permission to continue on ahead, Sir," said Silver Kibble to Meta Knight as he passed on the Turbo Flyer.

"Permission granted," replied Meta Knight. "Good luck, Silver Kibble."

_Silver Kibble takes the lead! He's coming up on Dark Matter... He's throwing a cutter blade... Whoa! Let's see that... in an instant replay. Slow motion!_

_You can tell by the way his arm is cocked that Silver Kibble is concentrating with all his might to throw the cutter blade in exactly the right way. There he throws... and just as the boomerang passes in front of Dark Matter's eye, light from the now-rising sun is reflected directly into it. Dark Matter spins around rapidly. In doing so, smoke seems to fall off of the ball around the eye and settle downwards in the Dark Cloud. _

_Ooh! Dark Matter has made a sharp turn. Silver Kibble reacts quickly, but the nature of the Turbo Flyer's turning causes him to spin instead of rapidly steer. Oh, _no_! The spinning has caused Silver Kibble to crash into a vine... which bends back... and _flings_ his machine far away! This leaves the unfortunate warrior falling towards the Dark Cloud below. That's one more racer down._

_And now it looks like Kirby and Chuchu have caught up to one of the racers. It's the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General on his Wagon Flyer! _

"Bomb fountain engaged," said the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General in his alternate robotic voice.

Kirby summoned Fighter and Beam abilities to become Fighter Energy Kirby!

Bombs streamed from the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General's open mouth (which looked like a donut hole).

Kirby threw a barrage of punches, decimating the bombs that came near him with Fighter Energy orbs. He also aimed as many punches as he could at the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General himself, but there were too many bombs.

When six bombs came Chuchu's way, she did a forwards flip and used the momentum of her tentacles to send the bombs right back were they came from. The collective explosion destroyed both the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General and the Wagon Flyer he was riding.

_And there's the finishing blow! No need to see_ that _in an instant replay. It would spoil the excitement! _

_Dodging those stalks and vines is no easy task for Escargoon on his Formula Flyer. Wait a minute... He's in back of Kirby and Chuchu! How did that happen without Kirby and Chuchu noticing? Oh well. Yamikage on his Winged Flyer, however, can get around Beanstalk Park with the greatest of ease! That one may take first place if he keeps up this incredible flying. Whoop! There comes a vine! But Yamikage jumps over the vine to land on his machine again on the other side! Nice moves!_

_But now Dark Matter has left Beanstalk Park! The eye is heading north towards Nebula Belt._

_Nebula Belt is a somehow oxygen-rich environment at the edge of Pop Star's atmosphere. However, almost nothing can live there due to the ground being unable to support over an ounce of weight. The straightaways here should give riders like Escargoon on his Formula Flyer an excellent opportunity to move to the front. And there he goes... he's charging his machine... now he lets go and throttles... slowly... forward. Oh well. That machine will accelerate eventually._

_Now Kirby and Chuchu are nearly caught up to Meta Axe and Dekabu on the UFO Capsule. What?! Kirby has transformed into a bow with a flaming arrow cocked to fire! Then he shoots... and it hits! Wow! Let's see that... in an instant replay. Slow motion!_

_There the arrow's coming... it lands on the right side of the UFO Capsule. Watch Meta Axe's eyes. Wow they got big quickly! Then the machine ignites on fire and KABLOOIE! Two more racers have fallen... literally! Oh, but it looks like Meta Lance heard the noise of the explosion. There he turns... trident ready... _

"Throw a bomb at Meta Lance right now!" shouted Chuchu.

Kirby summoned Bomb ability to become Bomb Kirby! Then he quickly took aim and threw a bomb.

The bomb flew through the air and stuck on the end of Meta Lance's trident weapon. Kirby trashed his ability.

"Augh!" shrieked Meta Lance. He then began shaking his trident in a desperate attempt to dislodge the bomb. "Get it off! Get it off!!!"

_And KABOOM! Kirby and Chuchu are on a roll. Can no one in the Meta Clan stand up to this invincible duo?_

_Well, Escargoon can, apparently. Oh, wait. No he can't. He simply speeds by them. Wow, he sure is going fast. At this rate, he'll take first place in no time!_

_Yamikage is still flying high. And Meta Knight, Meta Drone, Meta Sword and Meta Blade are still neck-in-neck at the head._

_But Nebula Belt isn't very large. Dark Matter is now turning to fly east. It is headed for... Crystalline Waves!_

_Crystalline Waves is a magical place above Rainbow Resort where the clouds turn into a transparent sea of crystal at their top. The crystal is very fragile, but the waves it makes aren't. Strange stationary waves are scattered about its surface. Because of the "ground's" fragility, nothing lives in Crystalline Waves._

_What's this? Could it be that Yamikage is flying low for the first time all race? Yes! Yamikage swoops down to one of the waves... and soars off of it with an incredible burst of speed! How did he _do_ that? Now he shoots right over all the competition and into first place! Looks like he'll get a shot at downing Dark Matter!_

_Yamikage throws some exploding ninja-stars, but Dark Matter swerves out of the way. Now Dark Matter descends until its underside is brushing the crystal sea. Yamikage descends rapidly, throwing more exploding ninja-stars, but Dark Matter closes its eye. Oh, no... The eye's descent had been a trap! The biggest wave in Crystalline Waves looms in front of Yamikage. He hits it! He goes up! WAY UP! Now he slips... and falls from his still-climbing Winged Flyer. Maybe that thing was a bit_ too_ good at altitude adjustment! Well it doesn't matter now! Yamikage smashes through the crystal sea and is gone._

_But someone_ else _seems to be having difficulty riding the waves. Meta Drone, surprisingly, has had to dodge every one. And this little problem has allowed Kirby and Chuchu to catch up to him!_

"Dude!" shouted Meta Drone. "What are, like, _you_ doin' here?! I mean, we're chasin' Dark Matter... an' all. And you're, like, not suppose' ta be, like, following us. Yeah... I'm gonna have ta, like, deal wit' ya... dudes."

Before Kirby could do anything, Chuchu (quick as lightning) flew her warpstar right up to Meta Drone, grabbed one of his thrusters, swung the robot over her head, and threw him downward. Meta Drone sailed down through the crystal sea, leaving a Meta Drone-shaped hole behind. Unceremonious, yes. But very effective.

_You go girl! And Chuchu lays the smack-down on another of the Meta Clan. _

_Oh, my. Dark Matter is turning again. Now it's heading north towards Machine Passage. But before it gets there, I can see that another racer has a chance of catching up to it!_

_Miraculously, Escargoon has managed to retain his accelerating speed for most of the flight through Crystalline Waves. Now the determined snail is coming up on Dark Matter! _

_But at the speed it's going, Dark Matter will very quickly reach Machine Passage. There it comes... Escargoon had better do something quick... Aah! Ooh! That was nasty! Well, it looks like Escargoon is out of the race too. Let's watch that... in an instant replay. Slow motion!_

_Escargoon sees here that the entrance to Machine Passage is coming up, but he's just slightly off. Going straight will send him into the outside corner of the dividing wall, but his machine can't turn fast enough! He collides... his machine takes a huge dent in its front... and... KABOOM! Escargoon goes sailing... down... into the Dark Cloud._

_Oh, I forgot to talk about Machine Passage. Well, Machine Passage is a structure high above the area north of Mt. Dedede. It is a metal stronghold where King Dedede can hide in safety when an attack is imminent. It even has still-operational cannons. Gigantic stone columns provide support for this great structure._

_Anyway, back to the race! The only contestants left are Meta Knight, Meta Sword, Meta Blade, Kirby and Chuchu! _

_There are many hard turns to pull off in Machine Passage, but all the remaining racers seem to be doing just fine maneuvering around them. _

_Now Kirby and Chuchu are getting close to the others. Their warpstar speed has been allowing them to steadily move up in place since the race's beginning. Ooh... It seems that Meta Sword and Meta Blade have spotted them... and are swooping in for the kill._

"Kirby?!" exclaimed Meta Blade.

"Chuchu?!" exclaimed Meta Sword.

"What are _you_ doing here?!!" they both shouted, flying around Kirby and Chuchu in respective diagonal circles.

"We're here to destroy Dark Matter!" replied Kirby and Chuchu together.

"Well, we can't let them get away with that, can we Meta Blade?" said Meta Sword.

"No," replied Meta Blade. "We must end their ride here, mustn't we Meta Sword?"

"Yes," answered Meta Sword. "We must."

_And the Meta duo fly in with whirling slices! But Kirby changes colors and pulls out a... Wow! Is that a double light-saber? Awesome!!! Oh, sorry about that, folks. Slipped out of character for a moment there. Anyway, Kirby spins his light-saber, but Meta Sword manages to zip by and give him a slice on the back. Chuchu lunges at Meta Blade, but he dodges, he makes a slice, and Chuchu manages to evade it! Kirby flies towards the Meta pair with slice after slice, but they masterfully dodge, showing off the outstanding abilities of their Hover Boards._

"You can never defeat us on our Hover Boards!" shouted Meta Sword.

"We were _born_ to ride these things!" shouted Meta Blade.

_Kirby spins his light-saber while flying at Meta Sword and Meta Blade. Chuchu throws eight rapid punches. Both of the Meta Clan dodge. Both make slices with their swords. Kirby gets cut again. Chuchu swerves out of the way again!_

"How do we beat these guys?" asked Kirby.

"Don't waste your breath discussing plans," said Meta Sword.

"We are unbeatable!" shouted Meta Blade.

"Let them come to us," whispered Chuchu.

_It seems that the fighting match has come to a standstill. Now the combatants are reentering the open air. They are now on a bridge between two areas of Machine Passage._

_The two sword-wielders fly in and Kirby gets cut again. But wow! Chuchu! Let's watch that... in an instant replay. Slow motion!!!_

_Meta Sword thrusts at Chuchu... but she grabs him by the arm... whirls him sideways... and slams him into the surprised Meta Blade. The two are_ thrown_ from their Hover Boards and then fall... down... into the Dark Cloud. The only combatant left is Meta Knight!!! Oh, did I say "combatant"? I meant "racer"._

Kirby stopped and called Gooey. The three cuts he had gotten were deep and hurting terribly. After getting a maximum tomato (the warpstar that brought it flew away afterwards), he and Chuchu entered the next twisting passage.

But now Meta Knight was too far ahead to be caught up to _and _there were multiple paths to choose from. Which way had he gone?

Kirby and Chuchu (after flying through a number of random passages) stopped in a warehouse-type room that had crates everywhere. They dismounted their warpstars and Kirby asked Gooey for help locating Meta Knight.

"I'm sorry, Kirby," said Gooey. "But my scanners aren't that powerful. They can't even find Galaxia."

"No," replied Kirby. "There _must_ be a way to find Dark Matter's eye at least! Otherwise, we'll have come all this way for nothing!"

"Well," put in Chuchu, "we did, sorta, defeat most of the Meta Clan."

"Yeah..." admitted Kirby. "But we need to destroy Dark Matter before Meta Knight does!"

Suddenly, Meta Knight shot by overhead. But then he stopped.

"Aargh," he muttered. "I've been through here before. What a terrible place."

Meta Knight landed on a crate and folded his wings.

"Meta Drone," he said, "status report. Where is the eye of Dark Matter?"

Silence.

"Meta Drone?" repeated Meta Knight.

Kirby nudged Chuchu.

"If only you hadn't killed him," he whispered.

"That little robot was about to, like, kill us," she replied.

Meta Knight turned.

"Now you've done it," said Kirby. "He noticed us."

"What a coincidence to find _you_ two here!" interrupted Meta Knight. Suddenly, his voice became a lot gruffer. He was clearly very angry when he said, "I'm sure _you _have something to do with no one else in the Meta Clan being here with us!"

Kirby and Chuchu exchanged glances and then hopped back on their warpstars.

"Oh, you're not getting away..." continued Meta Knight. "Engage emergency force field!"

Kirby and Chuchu raced for one of the passageways that led off of the room. Chuchu just barely made it out... but Kirby was too late.

Chuchu turned around outside and pounded on the invisible wall. Kirby could see, but not hear, her shout, "No!"

Meta Knight laughed darkly. "Well then," he said. "It looks like this battle will be ours alone. Normally, I would somehow procure for you a sword, but not today. Today the Meta Clan no longer exists and its code shall die with it. Yes, Kirby. I shall no longer restrict myself to the code of the Meta Clan in battle! I shall use every ability at my disposal! I know you may have increased in skill since we dueled, but I assure you that I was holding back in that match! This is it, Kirby. Prepare to feel my wrath! Utter pain and agony shall put your interfering to an end!!!"


	76. The Mutant Behind the Mask

NOTE TO THE READER: This is it. If you ever had any uncertainty concerning Meta Knight's true intentions, this chapter will clear it up.

****

**Chapter 76: The Mutant Behind the Mask**

Silence.

Meta Knight slowly unfolded his wings. Galaxia was already unsheathed and in its true form.

Kirby prepared himself to make a dodge on his warpstar. His mind was frantically searching for a good ability to summon.

Meta Knight jumped from his crate and made a horizontal slice in the air. A crescent-shaped sword beam flew at Kirby, who dodged by ascending.

Meta Knight fired more sword beams, some horizontal, some vertical, and some diagonal. Kirby kept dodging.

Then Meta Knight suddenly shot at Kirby like a bullet, but Kirby dodged this as well. Meta Knight soared past him, then made a u-turn and came for him again.

Kirby, in a split-second decision, summoned Fighter and Sword abilities to become Samurai Kirby. As Meta Knight came at him, Kirby struck Galaxia on the side to parry the attack.

A sudden duel in the air erupted.

Slicethrustparryparrysliceparrythrustslicesliceparrythrustparryparrysliceparryparryparrythrustslicethrustslicesliceparryparrysliceparrythrust! And during all those swishes and clangs, the two aeronautical swordsmen performed amazing dodges and maneuvers that they could never have hoped to accomplish on land.

But then Meta Knight flew above Kirby and made a powerful downward slice with his sword. Samurai Kirby blocked with his katana, but the tremendous blow caused it to shatter.

Kirby lost his ability and Meta Knight made another quick slice, missing Kirby, but severing one of the points of his warpstar.

The missing point fell to the ground and exploded. Sensing that the whole warpstar was about to do the same thing, Kirby jumped off and threw it at Meta Knight, who dodged. The warpstar flew to the ceiling and blew up.

Kirby got an idea. He summoned two Spark abilities to become Aura Kirby! Once more colored in swirling rainbows, Kirby closed his eyes and stood still.

Meta Knight rushed in, but was hit by a powerful bolt of lightning from Kirby. The severe shock blasted him across the room and into a wall.

Meta Knight got up. He was slightly singed in numerous places.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me, Kirby," he said.

"Why do you want to take over Pop Star?" asked Kirby, still standing with his Aura ability. "Where did you come from?"

"You should have guessed by now," answered Meta Knight. "You've seen my face. In truth, I was once like you. I was once just another pathetic Dreamlander. But your ways... Pah! They disgusted me. All you do is eat, play and sleep. Such a lazy lifestyle has no purpose! It's going nowhere! I thirsted for more! So, I snuck into Castle Dedede to see what I could find. There had to be more than just appearance to this "king", for I had never once heard the term "law" up until that point. But what I discovered... My findings revealed to me the secret of the Protecting Companies. Unfortunately, I was caught. King Dedede could not let me divulge this information to my fellow Dreamlanders. As for my punishment, it was worse than death. I was brought down into the dungeons and mutated into the form I have today. Ostracized from my own kind, I fled to the caves on the western side of Vegetable Valley. That was where I first met Meta Sword and Meta Blade, who had been training in those parts. They taught me to swordfight, but I quickly became more skilled at it then they were. With new hope in my life, I swore to one day overthrow King Dedede and rule Pop Star. Then Dreamlanders would all know the words 'discipline' and 'progress'. That was when I changed my name. I dare not utter my former title, for it is vile and a mark of the race that excluded me. I took on the forename of my two new comrades and added an ending to suit my new life's mission. I was, from then on, Meta Knight. The original Meta Clan was formed."

Silence.

"Oh," said Kirby.

"You, on the other hand," continued Meta Knight, hopping down off the crate he was on, "continue to thwart my plans at world domination. What do you have against me? I could improve life for all Dreamlanders!"

"Us Dreamlanders like life just as it is," replied Kirby. "You would be helping no one."

"You only like it because you don't know any better," retorted Meta Knight. "Once you see my ways of business, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. Besides, you'll be returning to the lifestyle of your intellectual ancestors. I know the history of Dreamland. I know that the Dreamlander race used to be highly intelligent. You were the ones that put the mine carts in Cavios. You were the ones that mined Bubbly Clouds. You were the ones that built the machines that turned me into what I am today!"

"What?!"

"Yes, Kirby. King Dedede was simply using Dreamlander technology to banish me. Since long ago, Dreamlanders have _devolved_, turning slowly into the pathetic creatures you are now. I can bring you back. I can open your minds. Soon Pop Star will be the most advanced planet in the Milky Way!"

"I've already told you," said Kirby. "Dreamlanders don't want to change. Ever think maybe we don't need super-smarts to survive anymore? And what about Neo City? You were fully prepared to destroy that entire place and everyone in it in order to gain power!"

"Some sacrifices must be made..." replied Meta Knight, "for the good of all."

"But you're still a ruthless killer! How could you hope to rule an empire? All Dreamlanders would hate you just as much as they ignore King Dedede!"

"Is that all I am? A ruthless killer? Kirby... You yourself have enjoyed changing. What with all these powers you have, you're barely even a Dreamlander anymore. Even you have changed your name. It can't possibly have been Kirby from the beginning. We're actually rather alike. We both changed our names when we got powers. We both want to liberate the Dreamlander race from some sort of oppression. And we're both destroying anything that gets in our way!"

"Stop that!" shouted Kirby. "Stop! You're messing with my mind! I'll never submit to you!"

"And that is why I must kill you," finished Meta Knight.

Meta Knight held Galaxia downwards in front of him. It began to glow. Meta Knight drove it into the floor and a strange blast smashed Kirby upwards. Kirby lost his ability.

Meta Knight rushed in once again, but Kirby summoned Bomb and Fire abilities to become Firework Kirby!

As soon as Kirby fired off the first explosion, Meta Knight used the same technique that Bugzzy had employed in this situation. He spun his sword very fast in his hand to create a protective air current against the colorful explosions.

A glowing yellow orb appeared around Meta Knight's free hand. Meta Knight pointed that arm at Kirby and shot the orb off. The orb hit Kirby and exploded, blasting Kirby to the ground.

"What the..." said Kirby, getting up. "Where did that come from?"

Meta Knight conjured up another orb.

"Not all my powers come from swordplay, Kirby," he said. "My mutant abilities cannot be disregarded. But, while I'm on the subject, you should know that I am the greatest swordsman in the Milky Way. Wielding Galaxia gives me the ability to perform any magical sword attack used anywhere in the galaxy. And, in order to prove it, I'll say each one as I perform them."

Meta Knight shot off the second orb. Kirby dodged and it exploded on the floor.

"Round trip!" shouted Meta Knight, throwing his sword at Kirby.

Kirby dodged, but the sword changed direction to follow him. Dodge! Dodge! Dodge! Thinking fast, Kirby summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby.

Kirby used his double light-saber to knock Galaxia away. The sword subsequently returned to Meta Knight.

"Impressive," said Meta Knight, holding his sword out in back of him, "but no light-saber can protect you from..." Galaxia began to glow. "Hurricane Spin!"

Meta Knight performed a spin-attack with his sword... but the spinning didn't stop. He kept whirling around and around! Then he flew at Kirby, still spinning wildly.

Kirby jumped out of the way, but the more Meta Knight spun, the faster he seemed to get. The great swordsman circled the room on the crates, smashing those that got in his way.

Kirby inflated and flew upward, but Meta Knight made a jump.

Kirby deflated and Meta Knight missed him by less than an inch, but the slices kept coming. Meta Knight was now one continuous sword slice.

On landing, Kirby planted his double light-saber in the ground and vaulted over Meta Knight, who sliced into the light-saber, destroying it. Kirby lost his ability.

Kirby ran to hide behind some crates. Meta Knight, however, seemed not to care where Kirby went. While still spinning, he unfolded his wings and flew slowly upwards.

"Tornado of Blades!" shouted Meta Knight.

Swirling winds surrounded Meta Knight and a gigantic tornado appeared in the center of the room with him at its top.

Peeking out from his hiding place, Kirby's eyes widened.

Suddenly, hundreds of daggers began flying out of the tornado. Kirby ducked back behind the crate as two of the daggers stuck in it. The little things were flying everywhere!

Thinking that he'd need something big to stop this barrage, Kirby summoned Bomb and Stone abilities to become Dynamite Kirby!

Kirby pulled out some Dynamite, lobbed it over the crate, and hid in his helmet.

The explosion blasted Meta Knight from the sky. All the daggers disappeared. The explosion also reduced every crate in the room to flaming rubble.

Meta Knight got up. He seemed relatively okay. Even his cape was still intact.

Kirby could tell that Meta Knight could not see him through the flames. Meta Knight turned and pointed his sword in a random direction.

"Masamune Form!" shouted Meta Knight.

Galaxia extended to twelve times its original length and its four side-spikes multiplied to forty-eight.

Now Meta Knight performed a simple spin-attack. Kirby jumped to dodge. That attack had swept through the entirety of the room they were in.

Meta Knight conjured more glowing orbs on his free hand and shot them all over the room.

Kirby dodged the ones that came his way, but one slightly brushed his foot, burning it.

"YOW," said Kirby in pain, but then immediately wished he hadn't. Meta Knight now knew where he was.

Meta Knight swung his still-lengthened sword in Kirby's direction. Kirby dodged. Meta Knight made more slices, but his sword was too big. Kirby could see the blade coming and dodge it easily.

Galaxia shortened. Meta Knight drew his cape around himself. He seemed to melt into the cape, becoming nothing more than a wrapped-up stick. Kirby assumed that this was another of Meta Knight's mutant powers.

Suddenly, the cape (which presumably had Meta Knight wrapped up tight in it) flew at Kirby.

Kirby backed away, but Meta Knight burst from the cape in a sword-oriented jump-attack.

"Shield-Breaking Shards!" shouted Meta Knight, bringing his sword down.

Kirby dodged easily, but Galaxia shattered, blasting pieces of itself everywhere.

Kirby's left side got cut by one of the pieces and another stuck in his foot. He screamed in pain and ripped the shrapnel from his foot.

Galaxia reformed on its hilt and Meta Knight used it to fire a vertical sword beam in Kirby's direction. Kirby dodged as best he could, but the beam cut off the tip of his already-injured foot.

Kirby's eyes widened larger than ever as he stared at his mutilated foot.

At that instant, something snapped in Kirby's brain. His anger had returned.

Kirby's body shook as he summoned two Fighter abilities to become Saiyan Kirby!

Meta Knight fired another sword beam, but Kirby disappeared. He reappeared behind Meta Knight and punched him.

Meta Knight soared through the flames to hit the opposite wall.

Kirby flew over and pummeled into Meta Knight, who used Galaxia to block each punch.

But then Meta Knight turned Galaxia's blade toward Kirby. Kirby made another punch, but his fist met with Galaxia's edge.

Now Kirby had a gash on his right hand. In the split-second that Kirby was paralyzed by the pain, Meta Knight conjured another orb and punched Kirby with it.

The explosion blasted Kirby high into the air. He landed hard a ways away. All feelings left him. He simply lay there, unable to move or think.

"You cannot defeat me, Kirby," said Meta Knight, starting to walk over. But then he stopped and it was obvious why.

The entire room had begun to shake. Chuchu raced over to Kirby. The invisible barrier had clearly somehow been destroyed.

"What's going on?" growled Meta Knight.

The floor in the center of the room turned red and melted.

Kracko, surrounded by his "cloud garment", with electricity sparking everywhere, huge as ever, rose into the room.

"Who dares disturb my thunder?" thundered Kracko.

"No!" shouted Meta Knight. "You always turn up at the worst times!"

"That is my purpose, Lord Meta Knight," replied Kracko. It had clearly healed from its insanity. "I was put here on Pop Star as an obstacle for the companies you know so well. If they wanted to dominate Pop Star, they must get by me first!"

A warpstar with a maximum tomato on it flew down to Kirby. Chuchu had spoken quietly into the phone for Gooey to send one. Now she pried Kirby's mouth open and shoved in the maximum tomato.

Kirby's wounds healed.

"What happened?" he said groggily, getting up. Then he noticed the large entity that was towering in front of him. "Kracko?!" he shrieked. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

Kracko turned.

"As for you, Star Warrior," it continued. "You are no different from the rest. You have risen up from a Dreamlander colony and fought against some overlords. You are an anomaly in the system and must be destroyed."

"I don't know what system you're talking about," replied Kirby. "but you've been wanting to kill me for a long time. Now I'm gonna get rid of you!"

"Use Needle plus Sword, Kirby!" shouted Gooey.

Kirby summoned Needle and Sword abilities to become Lance Kirby! Before Kracko could react, Kirby had thrown a huge javelin right through its eye.

The spearhead poked out Kracko's backside. Blood trickled out of its eye.

Silence.

Kracko began to laugh. It began as a slow chuckle, but then climaxed as a roaring (yet low-pitched) cackle.

The lance disintegrated and the wound healed.

"I cannot die, Star Warrior," said Kracko. "Weapons can only hurt me, not kill me. I can heal myself with time."

"I beg to differ," said Meta Knight.

Kracko turned back around.

"Galaxia can destroy anything," continued Meta Knight. "Now that I know you cannot die by any other weapon, _this_ shall be your end."

_CRACKAPOW!_ Meta Knight was, once again, struck by a lightning bolt from Kracko. But, this time, Meta Knight retained consciousness.

"Ignorant fool!" rumbled Kracko. "No mortal has ever challenged me and lived to tell the tale!"

"You yourself are mortal, Kracko," said Meta Knight, weakly. "Nothing can live forever. Your life ends here."

Galaxia extended again and the point shot right through the center of Kracko's eye.

Silence.

"Okayyou'rerightI'mdead," squeaked Kracko in a small high-pitched voice. Then the great eye suddenly exploded.

Kirby and Chuchu were already on their way out on their warpstars. The explosion jostled them a bit, but they escaped easily. Meta Knight, however, had not moved.

Galaxia was again its normal length, but the once crate-filled room had split down the middle and Meta Knight's half was threatening to fall forward. Not only that, but the explosion had injured one of Meta Knight's wings. He wouldn't be able to save himself if it collapsed!

Then... out of the sky... soared... Big Wheelie?

He landed in front of Meta Knight.

"Need a lift?" asked Big Wheelie, the seat reappearing on his top.

Meta Knight climbed on and Big Wheelie throttled towards an opening in the side of the room. He jumped... and landed... on top of the arsenal ship.

Once back inside, Meta Knight told his last remaining comrades of the fall of the others. Because of Meta Knight's wounds, Sasuke went up to the cargo car and got him a Peppy Tonic.

"Don't worry, Meta Knight," said Sasuke. "Once we destroy Dark Matter, the others will be released from its spell."

_Tap, tap._

"Look!" said Sasuke, glancing over at the front windshield. "There's one of them now! Oh, wait... Oh, no. Not him."

Meta Drone was outside, tapping on the glass.

"The only survivor of our flight is Meta Drone?!" exclaimed Meta Knight. "No! How can this be?!"

The air lock opened and Meta Drone flew in.

"Hey, dudes," he said. "Didja miss me?"

"No," said everyone else.


	77. Elsewhere

**Chapter 77: Elsewhere**

"I hereby call this emergency council of the Ripple Star Fairies to order! Ribbon, you may begin."

Ribbon: "Thank you. I shall start by saying that I am quite sure everyone on Ripple Star now knows of our Queen's fate. We are currently facing the most severe predicament in the history of our people. Never before has a Queen been separated from us. But we cannot deal with this catastrophe by entering a state of panic, which most of this planet has been in for the past few days!"

"Well, what do you expect us to do?!"

"Yeah!"

"The Queen has always provided instructions!"

"How can we trust anyone else?!"

"ORDER! ORDER!"

Silence.

Ribbon: "Think, everyone. We must do as the Queen would have done. We must launch an assault on Dark Matter to free her!"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Yeah!"

"We cannot stand up to Dark Matter without our Queen!"

"We'll all be possessed!"

"You can count me out!"

"ORDER! ORDER!"

more yelling

"I SAID ORDER!!!"

Silence.

Ribbon: "You've got to trust me on this. I was the Queen's right-hand Fairy. I probably knew her better than anyone else on this planet."

"But how can you expect us to follow your orders? How do we know that's what our Queen would have wanted?!"

"Yeah!"

Jewel: "Oh, come on! Do you really want to just sit here and wait for Dark Matter to ensnare this planet as well? All this talk about what our Queen would have wanted. She would have wanted to be rescued, dammit! You girls are just too scared to do anything about it, aren't you? Well, we have to stay strong, even in this darkness. We gotta go back there and show that bloody eye how we do things here in the Starred System! Who's with me?!"

Silence.

"I still think it's crazy."

"Yeah."

****

****

Somewhere on the "green star"... a small computer monitor switched on... and the sales guy for NightMare Enterprises appeared on the screen.

Watching the screen was none other than the notorious Tac, who had closed shop after once again being swindled by the Meta Clan. Oh, well. At least Meta Drone had paid. That old tin can had it coming.

Out of work, Tac had come to the "green star" so that, in solitude, he might think... meditate... and figure out a new business. But then the Meta Clan came to pick up Captain Stitch and Masher. Tac spied on them, using his amazing ability to become unnoticeable, part of the background. Well, he guessed that the Meta Clan was about to go after Dark Matter again, so he devised a plan. He pulled a small computer and wireless internet connector out of his magic sack and made the call.

"Hello and welcome to NightMare Enterprises," said the sales guy. "It sure is nice to see a new customer's face. Would you like to set up an account? I can send the contract right away. Just give me your e-mail address and-"

"Quiet!" hissed Tac. "I am not a client."

The sales guy raised an eyebrow.

"Then what business do you have with NightMare Enterprises?" he asked.

"I have called to warn you," answered Tac. "There is an organization called the Meta Clan that has recently been purchasing monsters from you. I have found evidence that they are planning to use those monsters as backup in an attempt to storm Castle Dedede and destroy the eye of Dark Matter, which resides within. If that happens, then Nightmare, your boss, will be vulnerable; and I'm sure their mission would not be complete without destroying him as well. I suggest you take precautions. Send monsters to stake out at Castle Dedede before it's too late."

"Oh, I know all about Meta Knight's plans. And I assure you, we are in no danger."

"How can you be so confident? Don't you know that Meta Knight wields the sacred sword Galaxia?"

"Don't worry! MK and I go way back. He's been ordering monsters from me since-"

"Shut up! Meta Knight is ruthless. He'll do anything to obtain power. Just stop for a moment and think what would happen if Nightmare were destroyed. What would you do then?"

"Well, we wouldn't have anyone managing our organization anymore. Large-scale business deals would become difficult, as they would involve many of our departments without any administrator supervising departmental coordination. Other than that, NightMare Enterprises would become employee-owned! We'd get more money for our deals. We'd be able to change the company's rules to our liking. It'd be different, but I think we could survive without Nightmare."

Silence.

"Be that as it may," continued Tac, "Nightmare is still your boss and must be protected."

"I'm sorry," replied the sales guy, "but I don't see any profit that can be acquired by sending monsters to Castle Dedede, monsters that could be called for by a customer at any time. We can't just ship them out for free, you know. Now, if _you_ would like to buy some and set them up at Castle Dedede, you'd be more than welcome. I have the contract right here. If you would just tell me your e-mail addr-"

"I'm not buying! I'm warning! If Nightmare goes down, I tell you, NightMare Enterprises will go down with him!"

"Thank you for yelling at NightMare Enterprises," said the sales guy. "Please do not call again and have bad day."

The screen went black.

****

****

The following is an excerpt from Curiosity File #7 in Gooey's data archives.

_The Starred System is probably one of the densest solar systems in the Milky Way. Very many planets are squashed into this small amount of space. For my own convenience and curiosity, I have listed below every planet known in the Starred System, along with a description. They are in alphabetical order._

**_1)_**_ Aqualiss (known also as Aqua Star): a tropical planet covered almost completely by water. This planet's few islands feature extensive (and therefore expensive) holiday resorts. Aqualiss is the only planet in the Starred System that I have not been to. I am not particularly fond of swimming, nor will I ever need a tan. The native creatures are mostly blippers, glunks and slippys. Also, beware of falling coconuts._

**_2) _**_Colda (known also as Shiver Star): the farthest planet from Pop Star's sun, and therefore the coldest in the solar system. Colda is trapped in a perpetual winter, yet is still a gigantic tourist attraction. This wondrous planet of crystalline ice hosts the Starred System's most extravagant mall. Some shop-aholics would be content to spend their entire life on Colda if it weren't so frigid. Natives include mostly ice-based creatures such as frigises and chillys (some of which have grown to unbelievable sizes). Note: Not many people know this, but Colda also features the solar system's largest factory, which makes the products that are sold in the mall._

**_3) _**_Floria: might be named Seasonal Star some day because of its irregular orbit, which makes it the only planet in the Starred System to go through all four seasons. The environment is similar to Green Greens in Dreamland, but changes dramatically through the seasons. The creatures that live there also migrate with the seasons. Those that like summer, for instance, always travel wherever summer goes on the planet. It may be just coincidence, but the time it takes one area of Floria to undergo all four seasons is the same amount of time it takes a year to pass on the Odnetnin calendar._

**_4)_**_ Halfmoon: a planet cloaked in darkness, yet highly populated. Halfmoon is also my home planet and where I first invented warpstars. You never know what strange creatures you may encounter here. Some of its environment is even similar to Nebula Belt in Dreamland, yet more stable. The rest is mostly rock and night-growing vegetation. I would have stayed on Halfmoon, but whatever electrical devices I set up eventually turned on me, struck with some unknown computer virus, which had originated within the planet itself._

**_5)_**_ Hotbeat (known also as Magheat): the hottest planet in the Starred System. Heated by a sun-like core, this planet is covered almost completely by lava and unstable volcanoes. Few animals find residence there, but it is known that colonies of noddies sleep the days away in a number of volcanoes._

**_6)_**_ Mecheye: current location of the Meta Base. This planet of solid rock was conquered by the Meta Clan and covered completely in metal, allowing Mecheye to finally live up to its name. All indigenous species of this planet are now extinct and the Meta Base has never been successfully invaded._

**_7) _**_Meteos (known also as Natural Cavios): another solid rock. However, this planet features endless natural tunnels leading through its entire interior, none of which have been mapped. These caverns are popular hibernation spots for grizzos and other large creatures._

**_8)_**_ Pop Star: the largest and most populated planet in the Starred System. It is also my current residence. The planet itself is shaped like a star and both the only sun and only moon (other than Colda's moon) in the Starred System orbit it. The main locale on Pop Star is Dreamland, which covers about one quarter of one of the planet's sides. On the other side, the world is set up like a giant pinball table. I shall investigate the mystery of that fact in some other Curiosity File, but right now I shall put that few residents of the Dreamland side of Pop Star ever venture over to the pinball side. Lastly, the climate changes depending on where you travel here, making Pop Star the most environmentally diverse planet in the Starred System._

**_9)_**_ Ripple Star: a cheery, pastel-colored planet and home of the Ripple Star Fairies (see Curiosity File #6). Not much is known about this planet's complex environment, as the Fairies are very strict about who else can set foot on its "sacred" ground. _

**_10)_**_ Sky High (a better name would be Sky Star): not a gas giant, but a gas dwarf. Sky High is a surprisingly small planet, on which the only stable environment is clouds similar to those in Grape Garden. Many flying creatures enjoy this planet, including bronto burts and twizzys. Ice creatures such as chillys are also common._

**_Other notes. _**_The Nova Corporation is located on a comet of their own design, which orbits Pop Star once every 3.5 years (by the Odnetnin calendar). The location of the Holy NightMare Corporation (now known as NightMare Enterprises) is unknown; it might not even be in the Starred System. There may also be uncharted planets in the Starred System, and they will be put up here in this list as soon as they are discovered._

****

****

NOTE TO THE READER: I had my reasons for not including Rock Star or Neo Star in the above list. All will be explained in a subsequent chapter. Please, do not pester me about this detail. On a different note, this chapter (although short) was particularly difficult to write. That's why it took so long. This stuff isn't easy to rush. Getting a whole chapter out every week is tough, but I try my best.


	78. The Greatest Marxman — Part 1

**Chapter 78: The Greatest Marxman - Part 1**

"So you had no clue of Kracko's intentions?" exclaimed Kirby.

"Right," answered Gooey. "None at all. Although, now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. Kracko has always been pretty much of a nuisance to _everyone_."

"Kirby," interrupted Chuchu, "I don't think this is, like, the most important thing we could be talking about. I saw you and Meta Knight stop fighting after you turned all rainbow-colored and shot him down with lightning. Was he, like, talking to you? I couldn't tell. His mask, like, wouldn't let me see if his mouth was moving."

"Yeah," answered Kirby, "he was talking, alright. He told me practically his whole life story... up until the point where he met Meta Sword and Meta Blade."

Silence.

"Spill," said Chuchu. "Tell us everything."

****

****

_That was a close call. The whole Meta Clan plus Kirby and Chuchu chasing me? How could this happen? Now the Meta Clan has retreated. No idea where _they_ went. Kirby and Chuchu are flying around in Nebula Belt, above the reach of my Dark Cloud. Chuchu is still vulnerable to my possessive powers, but I cannot go after her myself. If Kirby finds me... I would not like a star rod shoved into my eye. _

_But I could send someone else to do the job. If Kirby doesn't think to use the star rod... Marx could attack without fear. Yes, that's it. This time I'll be more careful. That annoying octopus shall not best me again._

****

****

"Whoa," said Chuchu when Kirby was finished.

"This explains everything," commented Gooey.

Silence.

"That's all I had to say," finished Gooey.

"Wait," said Kirby. "I'm wondering something. How did he find so many other people named 'Meta' to join him?"

"'Meta' isn't a name, Kirby," explained Gooey. "It's more of a title, like 'Sir', 'Mr.' or 'King'. I assume the other followers changed their names to match."

"But Meta Knight's full name is 'Sir Meta Knight'," noted Kirby.

"Uh, well, the others still changed their names. Look, this detail is of no importance. What we _should_ be discussing right now is how we can get Kirby to the eye of Dark Matter so that he can destroy it."

"So..." said Chuchu shakily. "What's my job in this? I hope you're not gonna have to, like... leave me, Kirby." Her voice cracked slightly on the word "leave".

"Maybe I can come up with something that you could do to aid us," said Gooey, "but... I can't promise anything."

Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound and Marx flew over to Kirby and Chuchu. He had risen from the Dark Cloud.

"There!" cheered Chuchu. "I _knew_ something would turn up!"

"Oh, no," groaned Kirby. "Not _you_ again."

"I have come for you, Chuchu," screeched Marx. "You shall join me in the Dark Cloud!"

"I'll never go back down there, you creep!" retorted Chuchu.

"Then I will have to take you by force!" yelled Marx, firing four blades at Chuchu.

Thinking fast, Kirby summoned two Parasol abilities to become Giant Parasol Kirby!

Kirby flew in front of Chuchu and blocked the blades with a parasol at least five times the size of a normal one.

"Thanks, Kirby," she said, "but I think I could have handled it."

"He just wants you," said Kirby. "Let me deal with him."

"No," insisted Chuchu. "I have an idea."

She whispered something to Kirby.

Kirby trashed his ability, and then summoned Fighter ability to become Fighter Kirby!

The giant parasol was removed and the pair had to swerve out of the way as Marx shot an ice bomb at them. (Marx had been gathering breath for it during Kirby and Chuchu's short conversation.)

Kirby grabbed one of Chuchu's tentacles and made a horizontal sweeping motion near Marx's face. Chuchu used this momentum to fly in front and pummel into Marx's cheek with seven full-strength punches.

Marx spun on the spot, yowling in pain.

"Use the star rod, Kirby!" shouted Gooey.

Kirby held up his hand. Shooting up from it came a ray of light, which shortened and turned into a glowing white baton. Then a pink ribbon appeared and entwined the baton in ascending spirals. The end of it now emitted a blinding flash if yellow light and a five-pointed golden star appeared at its tip. Kirby had summoned the Great Star Rod of Light!

Now that he was wielding the star rod, Kirby knew exactly how to use it.

Kirby swung the star rod in Marx's direction, causing a light yellow, star-shaped projectile to fly toward the monster.

Marx stopped spinning and the star hit him right between the eyes. He became instantly still. Then his whole body shone bright white. While it was shining, black smoke fell from it to settle back down in the Dark Cloud. After that, the glowing stopped.

Silence. Marx blinked a couple times. His eyes were back to normal.

"Where am I?" were his first words. He didn't sound any different, but his shriek of a voice seemed to take him by surprise.

Marx looked at his hands. Then he felt his wings.

"WOW!" he exclaimed. "It worked. All my plans worked!"

"What's going on here?" asked Chuchu.

"Hey, Kirby," said Marx. "Who's she? An associate?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call her that," answered Kirby awkwardly. "Wait. Marx? It's really you?"

"Who else could it be?" replied Marx, grinning. "Thanks for freeing me, by the way. 'Course, it was all according to plan."

"What plan?" interrupted Chuchu.

"Well, Kirby," explained Marx, "I guess I can finally tell you. I HAVE CONNED YOU ALL!!!"

"Huh?" said both Kirby and Chuchu.

"Now that my plans have succeeded," continued Marx, "I can tell you everything. The truth is, I really _do_ work for the Nova Corporation and my whole job there has been the elimination of the Meta Base. Now, in order to successfully destroy it, someone would need to go in, plant a bomb, and then detonate it while inside. It must be put in a specific spot, or it won't work. But who would be willing to blow themselves up to get their job done? Me, that's who, but not until I had been mutated into the powerful being I am now. Now that I can survive the blast, I can plant the bomb myself. You see, if the bomb weren't detonated immediately after placement, the auto-security system in the Meta Base would disarm it. Anyway, I tricked Dark Matter into mutating me, knowing you'd just save me later. I am proudly the best actor in the Starred System, and this proves it!"

Silence.

"Well, I must be going now," finished Marx. "Now that this stage of my mission has been completed, I shall report back to the Nova Comet, grab the bomb, and be on my way."

"Hold on a minute, Marx," interjected Gooey. "You wouldn't mind if Kirby and Chuchu here went with you, would you? I still don't trust you, or the Nova Corporation. Supervision is necessary."

"Suit yourself," answered Marx, removing his jester's cap. He then turned the cap inside out.

The inside of the cap had a strange metallic substance lining it. Marx held it up to the sun.

"By exposing this material to light from the now-rising sun," explained Marx. "The chemicals in it will be picked up on the scanners back at the Nova Comet. It's my signal for a ride."

A chrome-colored, spherical ship flew in down in front of Marx.

"Let's go," he said.

****

****

En route...

"Yes, Kirby," explained Gooey. "I _told_ you the star rod banishes darkness. That's why it saved Marx. Good job of it, by the way. Oh, and you'd better eat it again now that you've used it. Don't want to be vulnerable, do you?"

Kirby tossed the star rod into his mouth.

"Okay, gang," said Marx. "One thing I should warn you about. The big boss around here... She's got kind of a funny name. Very important that you never comment on it in front of her."

"What is it?" asked Chuchu.

"It's..." began Marx. But then he stopped and said, "Wait a minute. I still don't know _your_ name, or your connection to Kirby here."

Chuchu hesitated, not sure whether she wanted to expose much information about herself to such a dodgy character, but continued nonetheless.

"I'm Chuchu," she explained, "the most recent addition to the League of Animals for Protection. I was separated from my colleagues and stuck with Kirby. I aided him in acquiring the final star rod shard... from _you_ I might add."

"Really?" blurted out Marx. "Did we fight each other? Who won?"

"You seriously don't remember anything?" interrupted Kirby suspiciously.

"No!" answered Marx. "Why?"

"When we fought each other for the first time," recounted Kirby, "I ended up slicing you in half down the middle. But then your two halves split and a black hole sucked both Chuchu and me into your mind. You then released Chuchu into Dark Matter's waiting clutches. You're mind-self created millions of copies of itself to kill me, but I managed to fight them off for a while. Then I inhaled one, got Crash ability, and blew your mind to smithereens. After that, well, you must have been flying over Grass Land at the time, because that was where I reappeared."

"Wait," interrupted Marx. "You were in my _mind? _On second thought, don't spare me the details. My mind must have been terribly warped under Dark Matter's grasp."

"Yeah, it was. But there's one thing I still don't get. How did I get Crash ability by inhaling one of your mind-selves?"

"Dunno. Maybe it was from the hugeness of power I have."

"I guess that would make sense..."

"But how do you know how much power you have?" asked Chuchu skeptically. "You've only just seen your new self for the first time."

"I already have an intuitive feel for my abilities," answered Marx. "Somehow I already know how to use them. It's second-nature, like moving my feet."

"Hold it, Marx!" interrupted Gooey. "You three have gone off on a major tangent! You're nearly to the Nova Comet and Marx still hasn't revealed the supposedly-ludicrous name of his boss!"

"Oh!" exclaimed Marx. "Right! The boss' name is Grill."

"Grill?!" repeated Kirby and Chuchu incredulously.

"Yes, that's right," continued Marx. "Weird name, but she's never got around to changing it. 'Course only a moron would say something about it. Let me put it this way... She has a short fuse."

Kirby and Chuchu exchanged glances.

****

****

The Nova Comet was the strangest contraption Kirby had ever seen. Its main body was flat like a coin. While its back featured four rocket thrusters, its front had two eyes and a painted-on mouth. The entire structure was painted golden yellow. But coming off of its round sides were all sorts of random gizmos and gadgets, like a weathervane, a compass, a clock, light bulbs, and a telescope. Around the face there were painted flames going out and a shooting star above the right eye.

The entrance to a docking bay opened in the upper-right portion of the face and the ship flew in.

Unlike its yellow-gold exterior, the dominant color inside was chrome. The docking bay was nothing more than a rectangular room. The ship was almost invisible inside of it.

A door opened in the back of the bay and everyone went through. (Marx had to go in sideways because of his wings.)

Cubicles. Lots of cubicles. Kirby and Chuchu walked down a narrow path among them while Marx flew overhead. Glancing into one, Kirby saw a small, strange creature. It looked sort of like a brown onion with a face and a green tuft on top. It feet were red and of the standard Dreamland variety. Lastly, its sides had little white hands attached to them. Kirby peeked into every cubicle he passed, seeing that each one had an identical creature inside!

The hallway was long, but eventually the trio reached a door.

"The boss is just in there," whispered Marx.

Kirby opened the door.

This was clearly the right eye of the Nova Comet. The room looked like an observatory, featuring a long, semi-circular panel in front of the eye-window. The panel was covered with hundreds of buttons, levers, etc.

But the thing that caught Kirby's eye was not the controls, but the thing that turned away from them to face Marx. This was clearly "the boss" that Marx had been talking about.

Her main body was peachy-colored and marginally spherical. She had a prominent mouth and huge, bulging eyes, the irises of which changed colors second-by-second. Her short, thin arms and legs ended in large, white-gloved hands and red, toe-curled shoes respectively. She carried a tan-colored broom in her left hand and wore a witch's cap on her head, which didn't completely cover up her bright-green hair. The hat was purple, with yellow rings around the cone-shaped part, which ended in a toy block that had stars etched into it.

------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE TO THE READER: Grill is NOT an original character! Her only appearance was in a Kirby game that was released solely in Japan, never in the US! Not only that, but she was the final boss! I would like to have put URLs of pictures of her below, but since this #%$ing site won't let me put in a URL, I had to cut them up with spaces, which must be deleted after you copy the URL to your address bar. These pics were in the actual game and they also feature her onion-like henchmen!

www. classicgaming. com/kirby/multimedia/pictures/nokirra/nokirraoniongirl.png

www. classicgaming. com/kirby/multimedia/pictures/nokirra/nokirrapg32.png

The game's title was Kirby No Kirakira Kizzu. And yes, her name really is "Grill" (despite the fact that is says "onion girl" in one of the above URLs).

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Marx," she crooned. She had a slightly low, very girly voice, with a slight clacking tone mixed in.

"Grill," responded Marx. "So good to see you again."

"My, my!" continued Grill. "You sure have changed. What absolutely stunning wings! Do you feel prepared to finally do your job?"

"Yes, _ma'am!_"

"Good." Grill's eye drifted over to Kirby and Chuchu. "Marx..." she said. Then her voice suddenly became harsh, angry and cold. "WHAT ARE THESE RUFFIANS DOING IN MY OFFICE?!"

"So sorry, boss," squealed Marx, shrinking away from Grill. "I forgot to introduce you to my friends here."

Grill calmed down.

"Their names are Kirby and Chuchu," said Marx, pointing to each of them in turn. "Kirby here is the Star Warrior that saved me from Dark Matter! And Chuchu... uh... She's his partner in their mission to destroy Dark Matter."

"Ah!" acknowledged Grill with a slight giggle. "What an honor to have such extraordinary guests! My name is Grill. I am the ruler of all you see before you, and the manager of the Nova Corporation."

"Pleased to meet you," replied Chuchu politely, extending a tentacle. Grill did not take it.

"I'll prepare the bomb, then," said Grill, turning back to Marx.

"Yes," answered Marx. "I'm ready. Soon my contract will be fulfilled and the Nova Corporation will once again rise as the dominant Protector of Dreamland!"

"I have long awaited this day," muttered Grill softly.

"One question," asked Gooey. "Just how many tons of TNT power is this bomb infused with?"

Grill clearly thought Kirby had spoken, for she turned to him and answered, "Approximately . Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason," replied Kirby.

****

****

Later...

Grill had led them out of the observatory/office and to a staircase among the cubicles, which took them down to a warehouse/stronghold area.

This huge, dark metal room was filled with crates and giant machines. Each machine was cylindrical with a dome on top. They also had round eyes and sharp-toothed mouths. Red mechanical arms extended from their sides. They had no legs and clearly led a sessile "life".

------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't know what sessile means? Look it up!

dictionary. reference. com/search?q=sessile

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Get the Meta Destroyer," said Grill to one of the machines. "Password: final shiver."

There were a series of clanking noises far off. Then a crate came into view. The machines were handing it to one another progressively to get it to Grill. The one in front of her set it down. Then it used one of its arms like a crowbar to open it.

Marx reached inside... and pulled out...

"A beach ball?" exclaimed Chuchu.

"Yes," replied Marx. "Ingenious, isn't it? This little sucker will only explode if punctured. And what better tools to do that with then my blades?"

"Marx," interrupted Gooey, "I have some bad news."

"WHAT BAD NEWS, DREAMLANDER?!" interjected Grill.

Kirby laid the phone on the ground to let Gooey speak.

"Excuse me!" continued Gooey. "I am NOT a Dreamlander. As I was saying, this bomb is too powerful. According to my calculations, if this thing is set off, it will cause a chain reaction that will completely destroy Mecheye! Not even _Marx_ will be able to withstand such a blast!"

"I am afraid, whoever you are," said Grill, "THAT YOUR CALCULATIONS ARE _COMPLETELY_ WRONG! THERE IS _NOTHING_ ON MECHEYE THAT THIS BOMB WOULD AFFECT THAT COULD TRIGGER SUCH A CALAMITY!!!"

"I beg to differ," retorted Gooey, "for I know something you don't. I know a secret that the Meta Clan has long held. They have hidden, somewhere on their base, a terrible weapon. Its destructive power is so great, that if it were dropped on Dreamland, nothing would ever live there again."

"Yeah right!" guffawed Marx. "For one, no one has better weapons than the Nova Corporation. And for two, I can withstand anything."

"I'm serious, Marx!" persisted Gooey. "If you take that bomb to the Meta Base, it will be the last trip of your life!"

"Gooey, I've had enough! This is preposterous. What am I supposed to do? Drop everything and quit my job just because you said there was too much of a risk involved? I have been working for years just to get here! This moment is the culmination of my acting classes, combat training, stealth exercises, everything! If you think I'm not going to go down to the Meta Base and plant that bomb, then you are sorely mistaken."

"Open air lock!" shouted Grill.

The door to a cubic room off to the left opened, revealing another spherical, chrome spaceship. Marx climbed in.

"Fine!" yelled Gooey. "Don't listen to me! I was just trying to save your life!"

"Look, buddy," replied Marx. "Think of what I'm doing. _I'm_ the one doing the saving! Soon you will no longer be at the mercy of the Meta Clan! This must be done! If there was another way, we here at the Nova Corporation would have found it by now!"

"Well, then," said Gooey with exaggerated sarcasm, "any last words, Mr. Hero?"

"Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!" retorted Marx. "Besides, you'd better believe I'm coming back in one piece!"

"Good luck, Marx," interrupted Grill. "NOW GET GOING!"

The air lock doors snapped shut.

Grill, Kirby and Chuchu all rushed back upstairs to the observatory. They watched as Marx's ship flew away towards Mecheye.

"There he goes," said Gooey softly, "to his doom."


	79. The Greatest Marxman — Part 2

**Chapter 79: The Greatest Marxman - Part 2**

"Shut up, Captain! For the last time, we did not forget anything!"

"Well, excuse me, Sir Meta Knight, but I know we left something behind. I don't remember what it is, but I get the feeling it's something really huge! We shouldn't be back here at the Meta Base. There's something important still on Pop Star!"

"Please, Cap," interjected Sasuke. "Give it a rest, will you?"

"I'm telling you," persisted Captain Birdbrain, "don't get out of this ship! You're just going to remember and come scrambling back in! You'll return to this ship just as fast as our retreat when Castle Dedede fired at us!"

"Wait!" exclaimed Sasuke. "That's it! I know what we left behind!"

"You do?" burst out Captain Birdbrain. "Tell us! Tell us!"

"We left Masher and Captain Stitch back at Castle Dedede," answered Sasuke hollowly.

****

****

From inside the spherical ship, Marx spoke to two steel doors that barred his entry to the Meta Base.

"Requesting entry," he said. Then he cleared his throat and said, in perfect imitation of Meta Knight's voice, "Password: Lord Pop."

The doors opened. Marx flew his craft in. The doors closed. Then doors leading into the base opened, filling the dock with air.

Marx got out and flew softly into the bowels of the Meta Base.

_This is it,_ he thought. _Even Meta Knight himself will be destroyed in this blast, but I won't! The fires of this bomb will finally sterilize Mecheye once and for all!_

****

****

"What's going on?" asked Escargoon, coming down from the cargo car. "I thought we were going back to the Meta Base."

"Change of plans," replied Meta Knight. "We're heading back to Pop Star. Seems we left both Masher and Captain Stitch there, so-"

Meta Knight stopped. He had just realized something.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Where did _you _come from? I thought you fell into the Dark Cloud after your crash while pursuing Dark Matter."

"I did," answered Escargoon, "but I was only under for a split-second before I landed on this ship. Our Captain saved me before Dark Matter could possess me."

"It was a lucky catch," put in Captain Birdbrain modestly.

"WARNING," said a robotic voice suddenly. It was coming from the ship itself. "WARNING. A BREACH HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE SECURITY SYSTEM OF THE META BASE. ALERT LEVEL: RED."

"Captain!" shouted Meta Knight quickly. "Take us back to Mecheye! Now!"

****

****

Watching from the observatory, Grill, Kirby and Chuchu saw a small orange blast on Mecheye.

"He did it!" shouted Grill. "Yes! We got them!"

Then there was another fiery explosion, this time much bigger than the first.

"What's going on?" said Grill.

"I warned him," put in Gooey solemnly.

Now there were more blasts appearing all over the planet, which began to shake slightly as if being repeatedly punched by some giant.

Whole chunks of the planet started breaking off, and yet the explosions continued to increase in number and size.

The trio simply stood there aghast. All eyes were wide.

Soon all of Mecheye was nothing but a smoldering orb of fire and rock, cracking everywhere and shuddering violently.

Then... slowly... it cooled off... and the explosions ceased.

All that remained were colossal masses of rock, orbiting around a nonexistent core, with asteroids all around.

****

****

The arsenal ship landed on one of the rocks, but the crew did not get out.

"HOLY..." began Captain Birdbrain. He then rattled off every swearword he knew... and very loudly.

"I... can't... believe... it..." said Meta Knight softly. "The base... gone... and everyone who was still working there with it. Not even a single scrap of metal remains."

Silence.

"This must be Kirby's doing," finished Meta Knight.

"Wait a moment..." said Escargoon. "Look on the bright side."

"THERE'S A BRIGHT SIDE TO THIS?!!" roared Meta Knight.

"J-j-just listen to me for a second," continued Escargoon, wincing away. "If this really is Kirby's work... then he must think you are dead."

Silence. Meta Knight would have raised an eyebrow had his face not been hidden behind a mask.

"...and that gives us," finished Escargoon, "the element of surprise."

"Yeeeessssssssssss," replied Meta Knight. "Soon I shall have my revenge. Mecheye will be avenged."

"As for these rocks here..." said Escargoon. "Since Mecheye is gone, they deserve a new name. A name is needed that will contrast this wasteland with Pop Star, the planet that ostracized you long ago."

"An excellent idea. The name shall represent loss and desolation. Everyone shall fear it."

"I hereby dub this planet..." said Escargoon dramatically, "Rock Star!"

"What?!" interrupted Meta Knight. "That's a terrible name!"

"Can _you_ think of a better one?"

"Well, I'll need a moment."

Silence.

"Time's _uuu_uuuuuuuup!" sang Escargoon. "I'll be upstairs in the cargo car, using the laptop I keep up there to broadcast this new name everywhere in the Starred System. As I once worked for King Dedede, I have access to certain decree-making files of his, not that he ever used them. Don't worry: this won't blow our cover."

Meta Knight didn't stop him. He simply sighed and ordered Captain Birdbrain to fly them back to Pop Star.

****

****

After Mecheye's destruction, Grill had gone into deep anguish. Not because the Nova Corporation had now _thoroughly_ screwed up and destroyed a whole planet, assuring that no one would do business with them ever again, but because she had truly cared for Marx. They had been close friends for a long time.

Anyway, Kirby and Chuchu were dumped into another spherical ship and unceremoniously shipped back to Pop Star.

Kirby didn't really know how to feel about this whole ordeal. So, he asked Gooey about something else to see if he could keep his mind off what had happened.

"Uh, Gooey," said Kirby. "The only people I noticed who worked at the Nova Corporation were Marx, Grill and those onion things. That's pretty small for a corporation."

"Yeah," answered Gooey. "I noticed that too. It's probable that everyone who had worked there before left the company after the Dream Course accident. That must be why we haven't seen much from the Nova Corporation for so long."

Kirby heard a slight whimpering sound beside him. He looked over and noticed that tears were leaking from Chuchu's eyes.

"So many lives lost," she sobbed. "Mecheye wiped off the map. It's just too much."

"Chuchu!" interrupted Gooey way too forcefully. "It's nothing to cry over. The Meta Clan had already exterminated every creature on that planet."

"How can you two be so heartless?" retorted Chuchu. "An entire planet... gone in an instant. And all because of that freak, Marx!"

"That 'freak' was destroyed with Mecheye. We should be putting this whole ordeal behind us. Besides, it is possible that Meta Knight was in the Meta Base at the time."

"So, you mean..." said Kirby expectantly.

"Yes," finished Gooey. "Meta Knight's interference may have been put to rest."

"Isn't there some way we can find out for sure?" asked Kirby.

"Uh," replied Gooey. "Not really. I'll run a scan of Rock Star to see what I can find."

"Rock Star?"

"Yes. It seems that what remains of Mecheye already has a name. Anyway, here goes."

Silence.

"Hmm..." said Gooey after a while. "I found something, but only that one thing. I'll see if I can get a closer look."

"What is it?" asked Chuchu impatiently.

"Ugh!" sputtered Gooey. "Ack! Bleah! Oh, that is terrible."

"What is it?!" repeated Chuchu.

"It's the left half... of the lower part... of Marx's jaw," answered Gooey shakily.

****

****

"Scanners have spotted both Kirby and Masher, Sir," reported Sasuke. "Shall we proceed with Plan J?"

"Where are Kirby and Chuchu's location?" replied Meta Knight.

"Our scanners are not capable of finding Chuchu at such distance, Sir. But Kirby is situated in Bubbly Clouds."

"You may proceed. You may also allow Masher to destroy whatever he pleases to get at Kirby. Bubbly Clouds and Cloudy Park are of no use to me."

****

****

After the arsenal ship had left him behind, Masher had made his way southeast. What was left of the Meta Clan found him half-submerged in the waters of Ripple Field, traveling aimlessly toward the distant Float Islands.

"New destination, Masher," said Meta Knight over the ship's loudspeaker. "Go to Bubbly Clouds. I will set your target when you arrive."

Just as he had done on the "green star", Masher scrunched down and then shot upward, but at a west-northwest angle.

****

****

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey suddenly. "Remember that huge NME-certified monster that destroyed Castle Dedede?"

"Yeah," said Kirby.

"Castle Dedede was destroyed?!" shrieked Chuchu.

Two warpstars flew down to Kirby and Chuchu.

"No time to explain," said Gooey quickly. "That monster is heading your way at an amazing speed! Take these warpstars and get the heck out of Bubbly Clouds! Fly to Nebula Belt. It won't be able to reach you there!"

Kirby and Chuchu did as they were told.

****

****

_WHOOSH!!!_

Masher landed in Bubbly Clouds. But the clouds had predictably not supported his weight and he fell right through.

_CRASH!!!_

Masher landed far below at the base of Capped Mountain.

"We're too late, Meta Knight," reported Sasuke. "Kirby, and presumably Chuchu as well, have already fled Bubbly Clouds and are headed for Nebula Belt."

Meta Knight growled under his breath and then said, "Nebula Belt is too far above the land mass below it. Masher will never reach them. If they had just stayed in Bubbly Clouds! Masher would have been able to get at them from Capped Mountain!"

"You've gotta admit, though," continued Sasuke, "that they knew what they were doing. They cannot stand up to Masher. He'd kill them in one hit."

Silence.

"Shall we go back for Captain Stitch?" asked Sasuke.

"No," answered Meta Knight. "I hated that thing."

Silence.

"This isn't fair," said Meta Knight, his voice shaking with either anger or sadness. "We were just about to fulfill our dreams with the Halberd, but then Kirby showed up. I've slowly lost everything since then. My army, my base, my friends. I don't know why I go on. Screw Dreamland! Let them all perish. You'll get no more help from me!"

Meta Knight unsheathed his sword and held it over his head, seemingly ready to slice himself in half, but everyone else in the arsenal ship rushed in to stop him. Unfortunately, Big Wheelie got to Meta Knight first.

Meta Knight was knocked down and run over. Galaxia spun off and stuck in the floor of the ship.

"Holy #$%&, Meta Knight!" yelled Captain Birdbrain. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!!!"

"I won't need to," snarled Meta Knight as he removed Galaxia from the floor.

Meta Knight made a slice in the air, which fired a vertical sword beam through the ship's controls. The beam also shattered the front windshield.

"What the %#&$ are you doing Meta Knight?!" screamed Sasuke and Captain Birdbrain together.

"What's going on now?" said Escargoon, coming down from the cargo car.

"I'm going solo from now on!" roared Meta Knight.

Galaxia began to glow. Meta Knight plunged it into the floor and the ship's engine died instantly.

The arsenal ship began to plummet, but without tipping into a nosedive. And the artificial gravity prevented the crew from rising upwards.

"Meta Knight!" rumbled Big Wheelie. "Stop! You're insane!"

Big Wheelie revved up his motor and drove as fast as he could towards Meta Knight, who spun around a split-second before impact.

No one saw Meta Knight's attack, but Big Wheelie suddenly exploded, blasting Sasuke out the broken front windshield. The explosion also ignited both Meta Knight's cape and Captain Birdbrain's coat. Meta Knight's cape then lit the strap to his mask on fire and it fell to the floor.

Captain Birdbrain shrieked, stopping to drop and roll.

Meta Knight turned toward Escargoon and bared his full set of sharp-spiked teeth that were no longer hidden by his mask.

"O-o-oh!" moaned Escargoon. "Don't hurt me!" He raced to the hatch in the ceiling that led to the cargo car.

But that was when the ship fell into the Dark Cloud.

Silence.

Meta Knight surfaced above the black miasma, slowly flapping his wings. Both his cape and epaulets were gone. And, without his mask, he no longer wore anything on his body. His eyes were burning red and his mouth was still a sharp-toothed grimace.

"This is the end, Kirby," he growled. "I'm coming for you."


	80. Familiar Faces

**Chapter 80: Familiar Faces**

When Kirby and Chuchu arrived at Nebula Belt, Gooey spoke suddenly.

"Kirby," he said quickly, "I'm getting call waiting. Hold for a minute."

"Okay," replied Kirby, slightly surprised. Who could possibly be calling Gooey?

Silence.

"Oh, Kirby," said Chuchu.

"Yeah?" answered Kirby.

"I just wanted to say that I am not leaving your side," continued Chuchu decisively. "Wherever we go above this Dark Cloud, something always turns up. Whether it's Meta Knight or Dark Matter or some big monster, there's no reason why I should flee while you deal with it. I'm not going anywhere."

Kirby was saved the trouble of responding by Gooey coming back on the line.

"Uh," said Gooey, his voice shaking. "We've got a problem. Let me play this for you. I recorded that call."

"Hello, Gooey," said a voice from the phone.

Kirby recognized the voice, but couldn't remember who's it was until Chuchu exclaimed, "It's Rick!"

Rick continued, "Bet you didn't expect that I, Dark Matter, would figure out your location. Now that I have a secure line to your place, I will trace it and eliminate you from those who stand in my way. Even though I have no proof of you plotting against me, I have been looking through the LAP's files and have noticed that you were the only one of the so-called Protectors of Dreamland that I haven't encountered yet. I'm coming for you. Enjoy your last moments of free will!"

Silence.

"It's a bluff," said Chuchu tearfully. "Dark Matter may have the bodies of the LAP, but it doesn't have their smarts. I once watched Rick trace a call. Dark Matter can't possibly know how to perform such a complicated procedure. You're safe... but my colleagues... are..." She wavered off and looked down at the Dark Cloud.

"I'm sorry, Chuchu," said Kirby softly.

"When I took the job I had no idea I'd participate in anything like this, but if you hadn't convinced me to come with you, Kirby, instead of hiding, I'd be possessed... just like..." She wavered off again.

"Well, actually," commented Kirby, "it was Gooey who did the convincing, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Chuchu smiled.

_ZZWhoosh!_

A sword beam had suddenly shot at Chuchu from below, who, amazingly, managed to dodge, the crescent missing her warpstar by less than an inch.

"WOW!" exclaimed Kirby, overly impressed by Chuchu's dodge. But there was no time to applaud.

More sword beams streaked toward them from out of the Dark Cloud. Now on alert, Kirby and Chuchu managed to dodge repeatedly.

Eventually, the last beam came in the form of Meta Knight himself, flying at Kirby, sword-first. When Kirby dodged this bizarre bullet, Meta Knight swung his sword wildly around, firing jagged and unstable-looking sword beams in every direction.

One of the jagged beams came in contact with Chuchu's warpstar, which split in two.

Chuchu fell, screaming, toward the Dark Cloud, but Kirby flew his warpstar quickly under her, breaking her fall with his head.

"Hey, dude!" shouted a voice.

It was Meta Drone. Meta Knight turned to face him, flapping his wings to stay hovering. When he did, Kirby saw that Meta Knight was maskless. Then Meta Knight gave Meta Drone a hate-filled look, baring his sharp teeth.

Transfixed by that face, Kirby did not use his warpstar to fly away. Chuchu was clearly staring as well, for she made no comment.

"Dude!" continued Meta Drone. "Ya, like, deeeeestroyed the ship, dude! Yer, like, whacked, dude! I mean, _dude!_ You were all _POW_ and _ZAP_ and, and, like, _CRABOOSH_, man! Yeah, it was wicked awesome, but ya, like, killed us, dude! Oh, and by the way, dude, Plan J, like, f-"_PASHfzzzzkkzzshssk...k...kk._

Meta Knight had impaled Meta Drone through the robot's eyepiece. He held Galaxia there for a few more seconds, while Meta Drone pitifully sputtered, "f-f-fa-a-a-a-a-ial-fail-ail-a-fa-ailed-ail". Then Meta Knight made a series of violent slices, reducing Meta Drone to at least twenty small fragments, which all fell into the Dark Cloud.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Chuchu, pointing upwards.

Kirby looked up, getting a split-second glimpse of hundreds of what looked like bright stars hurtling towards them before...

SeeeeuWOOOOOSH!!!

Flaming white shots flew down from the sky like bullets, creating a powerful wind that blew Kirby and Chuchu quite a distance away. Lucky, Chuchu remained clasped to Kirby's head.

From their new hovering location. Kirby and Chuchu watched as bolt after bolt of these strange dazzling comets streaked at the Dark Cloud. But, as each one arrived at the Cloud, it would veer off sharply, causing the powerful (and apparently magical) wind it was creating to blow the Dark Cloud apart.

"It's the Ripple Star Fairies!" exclaimed Chuchu in awe.

Meta Knight was nowhere to be seen. He had been knocked out when one of the Fairies collided with his head. He was now falling through the Dark Cloud toward Green Canvas far below. (Green Canvas is a relatively small golf course southwest of Neo City.)

A crater-shape was now forming in the Dark Cloud. The Fairies were beginning to slowly blast it apart!

****

****

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Castle Dedede could not be repaired. The entire operation there had failed.

"NIGHTMARE!!!" shouted King Dedede suddenly, speaking Dark Matter's words.

Nightmare flew down to the rubble on which King Dedede was standing.

"What is it, Dark Matter?" asked Nightmare quickly.

"My Dark Cloud," said King Dedede, shuddering slightly for no apparent reason. "It is under siege. The Ri-Ripple Star Fairies have retur-urned. I'm trans-ansferring all thought to my eye. I shall subdue them easily-ly."

King Dedede collapsed on the ground, as did all those under Dark Matter's control. Suddenly, almost all life on Pop Star was unconscious.

****

****

_SNAP!_

"What was that?!" exclaimed Chuchu.

_SNAP!_ _SNAP!_ _SNAP!_ _SNAP!_ _SNAP! _

Every time the noise sounded, a Fairy would inexplicably disappear.

Kirby flew the warpstar in closer, just close enough to see what was going on without being blown back by the strange wind the Fairies were making.

_SNAP!_ _SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!_

Long black tentacles were stretching up from the Dark Cloud and waving around in jerky, erratic movements. Every time one came in contact with a Fairy, the noise would sound and the Fairy's light would extinguish. The unconscious Fairy would then fall into the Dark Cloud.

A warpstar flew down to Kirby's side and Chuchu got on it.

"Let's go!" she said as she climbed off Kirby. "We gotta help them!"

"How?" asked Kirby.

"The Dark Cloud can't possibly be what's attacking the Ripple Star Fairies. Only the eye of Dark Matter itself can produce tentacles like that. The eye must be below Nebula Belt right now!"

****

****

White flames encircling her body, Ribbon made another pass down at the Dark Cloud, dodging three black tentacles and sweeping off a few more Dark Matter fumes.

Flying back up to pass downward again, another Fairy flew up close to her.

"Ribbon!" shrieked the Fairy. "Dark Matter's too strong! We're taking too many casualties! We must retreat! We'll never get a crystal to the ground at this rate!"

"Stay strong, Flare," said Ribbon as she reached the peak of her ascent. "We can still win this!"

Ribbon swooped downward again.

"Ribbon!" cried out Flare. "We can't continue! This is madneEEK!!!"

_SNAP!_

****

****

"Kirby! Fight the wind! We're almost there!"

"Chuchu! I just realized something! You have to turn back! Only I have the power to vanquish Dark Matter! You'll just get possessed! Besides, I need to go down into the Dark Cloud! Beating Dark Matter in this terrible wind isn't going to happen!!!"

****

****

"Ribbon!" shouted Jewel, stopping Ribbon from making another diving pass. "I'm going to fly into the Dark Cloud!"

"What?!" replied Ribbon. "No! That's insane!"

"The indent will give me a good head start," continued Jewel. "I can make it to the ground if I concentrate!"

"But you'll be possessed!"

"Not until I've buried my crystal in the ground!" Jewel held up her crystal. It was light purplish-blue and had a shallow diamond shape. Each Fairy was carrying one. "The power of my crystal will force Dark Matter's eye out of its Dark Cloud long enough for the rest of you to subdue it!"

"Jewel! You can't!"

"We've lost too many Fairies. This is our last stand! I'M GOING!"

Jewel shot downwards at the Dark Cloud.

"Jewel!" shouted Ribbon. "STOP! COME BA-" _SNAP!_

Jewel plunged into the Dark Cloud.

_Fwuff._

There it was: the great eye of Dark Matter.

Thunderstruck by this overwhelming image, Jewel failed to concentrate on keeping Dark Matter out of her mind.

"Oh, my God..."

_SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!_

****

****

The wind stopped.

Every last Ripple Star Fairy had been taken by Dark Matter.

The black tentacles began to recede.

"This is my time," said Kirby to Chuchu. "I've gotta go get this over with before the eye moves."

Chuchu flew over and hugged Kirby.

"Okay," she said softly. "Good luck."

Kirby hugged her as well.

"All right," interrupted Gooey. "I know this is a very touching moment, but KIRBY NEEDS TO GO RIGHT NOW!!!"

The pink pair parted and Kirby sped off into the Dark Cloud.

Dark Matter's eye was still there. It was looking upward, making sure it hadn't left behind any straggling Fairies.

Kirby summoned the Great Star Rod of Light. The instant he did so, however, Dark Matter's eye turned to look at him.

"Give it up, Dark Matter!" shouted Kirby. "You should have known I'd hunt you down in the end! I won't allow you to suck the life from this planet! Your reign ends now!"

Dark Matter closed its eye.

"foolish dreamlander," said a low, choked voice, which seemed to come from the very air around Kirby.

"What?!" exclaimed Kirby. "Who's there?"

"it is none other than eye, dark matter, who speaks," said the voice.

"But I thought you couldn't talk."

"Who are you talking to, Kirby?" asked Gooey.

"Can't you hear the voice?" answered Kirby.

"No, I can't."

"heh, heh, heh, heh, heh," continued the voice. "you know so little about me. it is true that eye cannot speak as most organisms are able to do, but now that you are within my dark cloud, eye can communicate telepathically with you."

"So, it _is_ you, Dark Matter," acknowledged Kirby.

"Kirby," interjected Gooey, "what's going on?"

"I can't talk to you right now, Gooey," said Kirby, unceremoniously closing the connection.

"another bit of information that you are oblivious to," Dark Matter went on, "is the fact that eye do not feed on 'life force' or any of that nonsense. eye feed... on dreams. eye, myself, do not dream. you have no idea how agonizing it is to roam space endlessly, sleeplessly, for a planet somewhere in this galaxy that can sustain me. eye was the one who polluted the fountain of dreams in order to increase the severity of the dreams of those under my control. and eye was, until recently, using your fellow dreamlanders to produce electrical dream enhancers in the dungeons of castle dedede. once eye have every being on pop star strapped into one of those, eye will become invincible."

"Empty threat Dark Matter," retorted Kirby. "Castle Dedede was destroyed... and now I will destroy you!"

"hah, hah, haaaaaaah. you don't get it, do you? now that you have brought out your weapon, the great star rod of light, you are vulnerable. all eye have to do is separate you from it and my dark cloud will ensnare your mind."

_Oh, no,_ thought Kirby. _I hadn't thought of that. Aaah! I hope Dark Matter can't hear my thoughts!_

Silence.

"speechless?" asked Dark Matter. "eye bet you're considering not fighting. that would be a wise decision on your part. eye will give you the option of backing out now."

_Whew! _thought Kirby. _It can't read my mind. All right, this is it._

"Dark Matter," announced Kirby determinedly, "I am NOT backing down now. We're gonna end this... TODAY... RIGHT HERE!"

"so be it," finished Dark Matter. "if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. you're in my world now, kirby. once your body is mine, eye shall force it to perform the most severe and strenuous labor any dreamlander has ever undertaken..."


	81. The Omnipotent Entity

NOTE TO THE READER: I'm surprised no one posted any reviews for my previous chapter. I'm not asking you to, but I hope you guys are still around after my month-long absence because of vacation. Important: I forgot to say the size of Dark Matter's eye in the previous chapter. I'll probably put this in when I revise the story (that would be in the far future), but THE BALL THAT HOUSES DARK MATTER'S EYE IS NOW HALF THE SIZE OF MASHER. Okay, with that said, you can enjoy this chapter that is DEFINITELY NOT THE LAST.

****

**Chapter 81: The Omnipotent Entity**

Eight black tentacles extended from Dark Matter's eye, which slowly opened.

The tentacles all rushed at Kirby, who made a few slices with the star rod. Whenever he hit a tentacle with the star rod, the tentacle would splatter like water in zero gravity, but then retract and reform.

Tentacle coming on the left! Got it! Right! Left! Got 'em! Front! Right! Top! Front! Got 'em! Got 'em! Below! Left! Top! Front! Spin the star rod... Good! Now, one more swish!

Kirby fired a star shot into Dark Matter's open eye, blasting the ball a few inches backwards.

"hoaaaaaargh..." choked Dark Matter's "voice".

The eye opened again to stare at Kirby, its pupil dilating.

Before the tentacles could attack again, Kirby fired another star shot.

_CRACKAPOW!_

Kirby felt like he had just been punched numerous times all over his face. Dark Matter's eye had just fired a bolt of black electricity at Kirby. The bolt had destroyed the star shot and scored a direct hit on the unsuspecting Star Warrior.

Immediately, the tentacles moved in to attack. Kirby, luckily, managed to keep them at bay with the star rod. His face really hurt.

As soon as there was an opening, Kirby got a glimpse of Dark Matter's eye. The pupil had dilated again.

Kirby could have fired another star shot right then, but instead he flew sharply upwards.

_CRACKAPOW!_

Kirby had guessed right. Right as he had flown upward, Dark Matter's pupil violently contracted, discharging another ray of black electricity.

Kirby fired another star shot, which hit Dark Matter's eye as it looked up. Dark Matter groaned again.

"all right kirby," said Dark Matter. "now you have gone and made me angry..."

Eight small, tan-colored balls appeared around the black sphere that housed Dark Matter's eye.

Dark Matter's pupil dilated and Kirby swerved to the left to dodge.

_CRACKAPOW!_

Then one of the little balls came hurtling Kirby's way. But before it could get close enough to be hit by the star rod, it exploded.

The powerful blast thrust Kirby backwards, scorching his face and disorientating him long enough for Dark Matter to attack with its tentacles.

All eight tentacles clasped onto Kirby, trapping him in a black ball of Dark Matter essence, out of which stuck the star rod.

The tentacles squeezed Kirby, trying to suffocate him. Already Kirby felt his grip on the star rod loosening.

With an enormous effort, Kirby managed to bring the star rod down through the tentacles, which splattered, releasing Kirby.

Another tan ball was already headed his way. In order to not take damage from the impending explosion Kirby flew backward slightly and hit the ball with a star shot, blowing it up.

_CRACKAPOW!_

Kirby had failed to pay attention to the eye, which had fired another black bolt. Luckily, it did not score a direct hit this time, blasting only Kirby's left arm (the one he wasn't using to hold the star rod).

Now in quite a large amount of pain, Kirby fought off more tentacles. Then he flew upward, over the eye. His new plan was to keep moving.

Another ball. Fire at it! Got it! Tentacles from below! And the Right! Left! Behind! Swing the star rod! Got 'em! One more is coming! But watch out! Swerve!

_CRACKAPOW!_

Good! Fire at the next ball. Fly down. To the right. Tentacles in front! And on the left! Above! Swing! Swing! Swerve!!!

_CRACKAPOW!_

Tentacles on all sides now! Swing! Swing! Too many! Little ball! Too late!!!

Kirby saw, as if in slow motion, the tan-colored ball break open and unleash its brilliant fiery blast into his face.

Kirby and his warpstar flew backwards, propelled by the fires of that explosion. A few yards away from when he had been blasted, Kirby's warpstar slowed to a stop.

Since Dreamlanders don't bleed, Kirby's face was not covered with blood. Instead, his face now had a slightly more grayish hue. It was also covered with dents and burns.

Kirby had not let go of the star rod. He had to keep fighting, but he could barely stand.

Dark Matter's eye floated slowly over.

"still wish to fight?" it asked. "eye shall be happy to oblige. this is your last chance to flee."

A warpstar flew down to Kirby's side. Riding on it was a maximum tomato.

_Thanks, Gooey, _thought Kirby as he reached over and ate the maximum tomato. The warpstar then disappeared.

"that fruit," said Dark Matter slowly. "what was that?"

"I can keep going forever Dark Matter," replied Kirby, revived once more. "You'll never win."

The fight began anew.

****

****

_Wha... What... What happened? Did Meta Drone self-destruct when I cut him up? No... His pieces fell down here... Then, how did I get knocked out?_

Meta Knight looked up. He had been lucky in his fall to land on grass rather than in the unnamed river that runs through Green Canvas or on one of the large grey rocks that litters the area.

_WHAT?! Kirby fighting Dark Matter?! How could this be?!! I must act before it is too late!_

Meta Knight stood up, spread his wings, and shot towards the fray like a bullet. He held Galaxia pointed forward, aiming to ram it into Dark Matter's eye.

Unfortunately for him, however, Kirby managed, right before Meta Knight would have struck, to score a star shot hit on Dark Matter's eye, blasting the ball backwards. This caused Meta Knight to miss.

Kirby's surprise at seeing Meta Knight was cut short by Dark Matter's retaliation in the form of a huge tentacle sweep, which Kirby had to cut through with the star rod to block.

"Kirby!" shouted Meta Knight. "You have gotten in my way for the last time!!!"

Meta Knight rushed at Kirby, who parried Galaxia with close-range star shot. Kirby fired more star shots, one of which hit Meta Knight in the face. It felt, to Meta Knight, like someone had just punched him, but with little effect.

Knowing the star rod would probably shatter if it contacted the great sword of destruction, Galaxia, Kirby thought fast and formulated a desperate plan.

Turning around, Kirby flew directly at Dark Matter's eye, Meta Knight followed, about to impale Kirby.

At the last instant, before either Dark Matter or Meta Knight could land a hit on him, Kirby spun back around, firing star shots in both directions.

The star shot that went in Dark Matter's direction contacted one of those explosive orbs, removing it from Dark Matter's collection. The other star shot smacked Meta Knight in the face.

That was all Dark Matter needed. First, its pupil had widened enough to fire, which it did, blasting Meta Knight's right arm (the one he was holding Galaxia in). Second, a tentacle reached out and snatched Galaxia away from the dazed warrior.

"Galaxia!!!" shrieked Meta Knight. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Dark Matter's tentacle pulled Galaxia away by its hilt and deposited it inside one of those tan-colored balls, which withdrew inside the ball that housed Dark Matter's eye.

Kirby flew a few feet back.

"Die, Dark Matter!!!" roared Meta Knight, conjuring a glowing orb on each hand. He then slammed the sides of his fists together, combining the balls into one huge one, which flew at Dark Matter's eye.

Dark Matter did not close its eye fast enough and therefore suffered temporary blindness from the explosion.

Kirby fired another star shot, but Meta Knight blasted it out of the air with another glowing ball.

"Dark Matter is mine to destroy!" bellowed Meta Knight, charging up two more bright spheres. "I'll not let a pathetic Dreamlander get the best of me!!!"

"Meta Knight!" screamed Kirby. "You've gone insane! You lost Galaxia! There's no hope for this planet unless I finish off Dark Matter now!!!"

But, "now" was too late.

Dark Matter's eyesight had recovered and it lashed out with a single tentacle.

Meta Knight felt a tug as the tentacle wrapped around his left wing and jerked him at the unprepared Star Warrior.

Meta Knight crashed into Kirby with enough force to kill a Grizzo. But that wasn't the end of it. The shock also knocked Meta Knight's hands together. Released automatically, the two combined orbs hovered in the air for a split-second before...

_KABLAM!!!_

Meta Knight was blown directly downwards into a rock, where a nasty snapping noise announced the breaking of his left wing.

The warpstar spun away, landing, coincidentally, on Dark Matter's eye, where it subsequently exploded.

Kirby shot sideways through the air and then arched down toward the ground, trailing smoke like a rocket.

...and the Great Star Rod of Light fell into the river, far below.


	82. Really Gooey

**Chapter 82: Really Gooey**

The second maximum tomato-carrying warpstar returned to the dock with its cargo still riding on top of it. Gooey noticed the warpstar's arrival on one of the many computer monitors in his office.

Gooey stood in his office chair. His unusual anatomy prevented him from "sitting down". Gooey was basically a dark blue blob with eyes and a big mouth. The eyes were pretty standard, but they could look in different directions at the same time. The mouth also contained a _very_ long prehensile tongue, which Gooey used for all actions that would normally involve his nonexistent hands. The tongue was also dry and devoid of taste buds.

Curious as to why Kirby had not accepted this second maximum tomato, Gooey used his tongue to dial up the cell phone on his speakerphone.

After a loud _beep_, the phone replied, "We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed. The person you are trying to reach is either out of range or their phone has been disabled. Please try your call again later."

Gooey quickly pressed the "hang up" button on the phone before it could emit more loud beeps.

Gooey's computers showed that Kirby's warpstar had been destroyed and that the Great Star Rod of Light's position in Dreamland was currently static. Also they no longer showed the location of Dark Matter's eye, which meant that all of Dark Matter's thoughts were no longer focused in the eye.

These three facts together could only mean one thing: Kirby had been possessed by Dark Matter.

Gooey sat there, stunned. He knew, however, that Kirby wasn't dead, because his computer mainframe still read that his job hadn't failed. But, how could Dark Matter be defeated now?

The intercom that connected Gooey with the kitchens suddenly relayed Chef Kawasaki's voice.

"Should I make another maximum tomato for Kirby?" asked the wonder-cook, his perpetually jolly voice breaking the silence.

Gooey's tongue lay limp on the desk as if still in shock, but he replied nonetheless. Gooey could, because of the way his mouth was designed, talk perfectly normally with his tongue sticking out.

"Kirby..." he said slowly, still barely believing it, "has been... taken... by Dark Matter."

"What?!" came Chef Kawasaki's predictable reply.

"Yes. It looks like I have fulfilled my duty. My job... is over. The other Protectors... if there are any left... will take it from here. The Star Warrior death tradition continues."

"You can't say that, Gooey. Kirby's not dead. He can still be saved! Your computer hasn't sounded the 'mission failed' alarm, has it?"

"Well, no..."

"Then you still have a job to do."

"But... I haven't gone on an active mission in 376 years by the Odnetnin calendar."

"Better late than never! C'mon! You go win one for Dreamland! And Chuchu'll help ya!"

"This... doesn't sound like the best of ideas, Kawasaki."

"Gooey, buddy, you _have_ to. It is your job as the last remaining Protector of Pop Star. If you can do this, you'll be a big step closer to accomplishing everything you have worked for. You can do it! Then Kirby will do it! Everybody wins! It's your last and greatest adventure, Gooey. Rise to meet the occasion!"

"I highly doubt this will be my grandest adventure yet, Kawasaki, but... you're right... about everything else. And, in that case, there's no time to lose. Chuchu will not like being left waiting! Good-bye, Kawasaki, old friend. I'm off!"

****

****

You've probably been waiting for this for the whole story, haven't you, readers? Well, this is it. I'm finally going to tell you the location of Gooey's base of operations on Pop Star! It is... high above the huge, nameless ocean southwest of Red Canyon.

Gooey's home is a hovering fortress, which is concealed inside an immensely dangerous, artificial storm.

The fortress floats on the nameless material used to create warpstars, but Gooey only managed to invent warpstars after he figured out how to concentrate that type of matter into a denser form.

You might wonder, however, why the fortress never moves from that one obscure spot. Well, it is because of the pipe that runs down from it to the bottom of the sea, which transports up, from within Pop Star, the special type of fuel needed to power the warpstar matter. The pipe is hidden inside a tornado, which extends into a whirlpool underwater.

At the very top of the storm, there is a hole where the winds cancel each other out. This is the only place where anything can enter or exit the base. And it was through this hole, that Gooey, riding on a warpstar, flew.

****

****

Chuchu was indeed beginning to get impatient and annoyed. How could the battle be taking this long? It was really frustrating not being able to see how things were going down there.

It was then that Gooey's warpstar floated down beside her.

Chuchu turned, surprised, and said fiercely, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better have a good explanation as to how you're riding a warpstar. If you're some thief, then this is the end of the l-"

"Recognize my voice, Chuchu?" interrupted Gooey in his signature smart-alec tone of voice.

"Hey, how'd you know my n-" Chuchu stopped for a moment, eyes widening as comprehension hit her. "Gooey?" she said tentatively.

"In the flesh."

"B-but," stammered Chuchu, "why are you, like, _here?_ And... what _are_ you?"

"Beg pardon?"

"I can't say this is how I've, like, pictured you."

"Oh. That." Gooey's right eye looked downwards while the left stayed fixed on Chuchu. "According to certain genetic studies, I am one of the many biological anomalies of Halfmoon, and, for reference, Marx was another. I do not remember my birth or infancy, as few organisms do, so I have no clue as to my own origin. I moved here from Halfmoon when a computer virus corrupted all my files. It's pointless to tell you my life story and I'm not answering any questions concerning how I had access to technology in the first place. Besides, the more pressing matter is that Kirby has been taken by Dark Matter, and now I have come to save him, with your help, of course."

This was the second shock Chuchu had gotten in less than two minutes. The two things she had least expected to happen, Gooey appearing in front of her and Kirby getting possessed, had occurred.

"What?!" she shrieked. "No! That's not possible! Are you sure he's really..."

"Chuchu," said Gooey very seriously, "I'm always sure. You said it yourself: 'Star Warriors never win.'"

"But that can't _possibly _be reason enough for him to get _possessed_! I've seen Kirby perform amazing feats. Yeah, with MY OWN EYES. Not like you, Mr. Disembodied Voice!"

"Look! I'm here now, aren't I? When I need to help actively, I do. It's just that passive instruction has been my procedure for the past few centuries. Now are you going to help me or not?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, but, look, um... Do you even have a plan?"

"I'm not one to run blindly into bad situations. Planning is what I do. You should know this by now."

"So, do you have one?"

"Of course I have a plan, Chuchu. Weren't you paying attention? No one but Meta Knight can think up a plan faster than I. Oh, and speaking of Meta Knight, do you know where he went off to?"

"Uh, no. I guess not, but somehow he lost his mask. He attacked Kirby and me before the Ripple Star Fairies arrived. Then he disappeared."

"Hmm. Very strange. Well, let's hope he stays gone. We're vulnerable without Kirby, so we must avoid detection by any enemy at all costs. We'll not get Kirby back using brute force. Our only remaining edge is the element of surprise."


	83. Behind NME Lines

NOTE TO THE READER: I AM NOT GOING TO STOP WRITING THIS STORY UNTIL IT IS OVER! If I don't update for longer than expected, it will be because of school. I apologize if this happens, but just know I'll be back eventually. Once again, I'll try to maintain my one-chapter-per-week schedule.

****

**Chapter 83: Behind NME Lines**

Kirby opened his eyes. He recognized where he was immediately. It was the bizarre landscape of Marx's mind.

_What?!_ thought Kirby. _How the heck am I back here?_

A large ring of Marx copies suddenly materialized around him. Then more began appearing outside the circle; more and more. Soon Kirby was standing on the only patch of land in a never-ending sea of Marx.

Rain began to pour from the sky, though no clouds had formed.

Then the world acquired a faint purplish tint. Then reddish. Then blue, yellow, brown, and finally it settled on greenish.

A single Marx stepped toward Kirby from the circle. Kirby stepped back slightly.

"Kirby," said the Marx, "welcome back... We've missed you."

Silence.

"Like what I've done with the place?" added the Marx.

"I shouldn't be here, Marx," said Kirby. "Aren't you... dead?"

"I am," replied the Marx. "So, now what would that make you?"

The Marx copies in the circle began moving. Some gnashed their teeth, some cracked their knuckles, and some got into stances that clearly meant that they were ready to fight.

Kirby couldn't remember what he had been doing before he appeared in this place. Was he really...

"I'm not dead..." he asked tentatively, "am I?"

"No," replied the Marx. "Not yet."

The Marx copies in the ring took a step towards Kirby.

Kirby tried to summon an ability, but couldn't.

"It's payback time, Kirby," said the Marx.

The Marx copies took another step.

Kirby tried to inhale, but couldn't.

The Marx continued, "We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us..."

The Marx copies took yet another step.

Kirby tried to scream, but all that came out was a stifled squeak.

"...sanity."

The Marx copies pounced.

****

****

King Dedede surveyed the scene. Dark Matter was not expecting the N-Z army to defeat Meta Knight; it was simply a test to see how the old warrior would fight without Galaxia. Blast after blast from those glistening spheres shot hundreds of those grey drones in every direction.

Now that Castle Dedede had been destroyed, Dark Matter had set up base in Lololo and Lalala's fortress, that is, after it had repossessed the two inhabitants. The fortress was then landed on the ruins of Butter Building. Dark Matter had summoned an N-Z sea to fill the packaging room, which had been emptied. The packages were currently being inspected by all the possessed Dreamlanders other than Kirby. Meta Knight was then dumped into the packaging room as an experiment. His wing had been put in a cast.

Nightmare floated over to King Dedede, who was watching Meta Knight through one of the windows near the ceiling of the packaging room. There were upper floors of the fortress, after all.

"How's the test running?" asked Nightmare.

"He never gives up," replied King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "I can say that much. Any progress with Galaxia?"

"No." Nightmare held up the sword. It was inactivated, nothing more than an orange blade. "Nothing I do can force it to transform."

"That is disappointing, Nightmare. I would very much like to use its power to further my possession of the Starred System. Although, I suppose said conquest won't be too difficult after all, now that the anomaly is out of the way."

"Speaking of Kirby, how's he holding out?"

"I've given him a very high dose of nightmare-enhancing serum. He'll be paralyzed for about a day in a semiconscious state, feeling as though his horrific dreams are real, though he is still under my control."

"But, won't that cause chronic pain and irreversible brain damage?"

"Probably. Your point is?"

"That was pretty much it. Oh, wait. I've just gotten an idea. I'll go see if maybe one of the bodies of the Meta Clan in your possession will be able to activate Galaxia."

"Very well. I shall transfer some of my thoughts to each at the appropriate time. That is all I needed you for."

"Thank you, Dark Matter. But, I have one more question. After this whole Galaxia ordeal has been taken care of, can I perform some tests on Sir Meta Knight? Maybe I can find a way for you to possess him. Are you sure you have no idea why he is not under your hold as of this moment?"

"Quite sure." King Dedede shifted his gaze from Meta Knight to look at Nightmare. "It's strange. It is as if his nerves are being blocked by some stagnant signal. I can't even communicate telepathically with him as I could the anomaly." King Dedede looked back down at the N-Z army. "Yes: once Galaxia has transformed, you may experiment with Meta Kn- Wait. Why has the action stopped? Could Meta Knight have actually given up?"

It was then that King Dedede noticed the hole in the far wall and the detached cast on the ground.

"He must be able to heal himself!" growled King Dedede. "He was just fighting so that we would eventually lose interest and look away. Then when I did, he escaped! Oh, well. There's no use going after him now. We'll never catch him and he wasn't really of any use to us."

"But, Dark Matter," interjected Nightmare, "what about what was keeping you out of his mind? If there is another way by which someone can protect themselves from you, we must find a way to either overcome it or stop it from being reproduced."

"I'm telling you it is unimportant. Now go find a way for us to activate Galaxia. I will reward you with leave for a short vacation in Pinball Land. I know how much you enjoy that place."

"Thank you, Dark Matter. As you wish, Dark Matter."

****

****

_Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?_ thought Tac. _Infiltrating the NME base is a snap! I'll bet those idiots had no idea that, with the right hacking skills, their Internet-transfer teleporters could be reversed from "download" to "upload"! I just wish there was a light switch in this place._

Tac had gotten bored sitting on the "green star" and using the Meta Clan's telescope on that planet to view the action on Pop Star, which was now completely black against the rest of the galaxy. The telescope, by the way, was so long that it penetrated the light-absorbing magic field around the "green star" (remember how the world was dark inside?) and that allowed it to view the rest of the Starred System. Tac now knew that Mecheye had been destroyed and that the Meta Clan had somehow fallen.

Tac slunk silently along a pitch-black corridor. Even though he had traveled quite a ways without detection, he still didn't quite know where he was, as he couldn't get a good look at his surroundings. Nor had he managed to program a location into the teleporter.

Finally, Tac got impatient. Reaching into his magical sack, he pulled out a flashlight. Originally, he had not allowed himself to use such an item, as it was of the utmost importance that no one suspect he was there, but he wasn't exactly going to get anything done in the dark.

Tac switched on the flashlight. This revealed only two things. One was that the entire hall was made out of a completely black metal substance. And the other was that there were bars instead of walls. Tac immediately thought that he was in some sort of NME prison.

However, closer inspection revealed that not one of the cells along the passageway contained a single organic molecule. Each one had the remains of a different robot in it. Most of the specimens were covered with dust.

"Who is there?" said a sad voice.

Tac whirled around, but his flashlight couldn't locate the speaker.

"Have you come to take me away?" continued the voice.

"Show yourself," replied Tac.

_Clinclinclinclinclinclinclinclinclinclink._

The sound was one Tac recognized. There's a stereotype about those in jail running a cup over the bars.

Tac located the source of the noise. A single robot was still operational. It had a rectangular head with black eyes, which had yellow eyelids. Its body was a long poll, plus another rectangle in the center, off of which extended two arms, and at the end of each arm was a red robotic pincer-hand. Lastly, the robot's lowest part was in the shape of a triangle that had strange red balls at its base. The main color of the robot was grey and it had been using one of its "hands" to make the noise.

* * *

NOTE TO THE READER: This character only had a brief cameo in Kirby's Drealand 3, but he looked really cool. So, I looked him up and discovered he was a real android! I'm not kidding! You could play certain old video games with him!

www .vidgame. net/NINTENDO/rob.htm

www .classicgaming. com/kirby/games/dreamland3/heartstar/36.gif

Remember to remove all spaces in the URLs after copying and pasting. Scroll down in the second one to see the completed robot.

* * *

"Here I am," said the robot gloomily.

"Why are you here?" asked Tac.

"I am being kept here until reprogramming," continued the robot in the same tone. "However, no one has entered this hall in over 365 years by the Echenemic calendar."

_The Echenemic calendar?_ thought Tac. _Never heard of that one, but this must be where NME keeps disloyal robots. NME must not have a reliable technical expert, or these machines would have been repaired by now. Hmm... I've got an idea._

"What would you say if I freed you from your cell and proposed friendship between us?" asked Tac.

The robot's tone of voice changed to one of excitement. "You could really do that?" it said. "I would be eternally grateful."

"Good," finished Tac. He then looked over at the wall that separated the cells. There was a number pad on the wall for code input.

_Breaking into places and stealing stuff by manipulating technology... _thought Tac. _This is what I do best._

Tac reached into his magical sack and pulled out a giant glove. He then held the glove up to the number pad.

The glove laid its palm on the number pad. A clicking noise sounded. Then the glove pulled back and typed in four numbers.

The bars of the robot's cell, creaking and groaning, retracted into the ground.

"This is certainly a joyous day!" cheered the robot, gliding out. The red things on its base were weak anti-gravity thrusters that enabled the robot to glide a centimeter above the ground. "Are we headed to the outside world, O savior?"

"We are indeed," replied Tac, walking back down the corridor he had come from. "Follow m-"

Tac was cut short by a very loud scraping noise. It was the kind of noise like nails across a chalkboard. Tac pointed his flashlight upward at the ceiling to reveal a panel opening. This panel had obviously not been opened in a _very_ long time, as it had rusted over and now only barely functioned. Once the panel was gone, out of the square hole came a flat-screen computer monitor, which pointed at Tac.

The notorious NME sales guy appeared on the screen and a look of uncharacteristic surprise appeared on his face.

"Tac?" he said. "How did you get in?"

"By hacking your internet transmitter, of course," answered Tac. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking the robot." With that, he turned around and kept walking. The robot naturally followed.

"As a matter of fact, I do mind," continued the sales guy, smirking at Tac's back. "We haven't used the area that you're in for hundreds of years, so I doubt Nightmare would mind if I activate its self-destruct system."

An excessively alluring female voice began the alarmingly short countdown, "This area will self-destruct in five seconds. Four... Three..."

The color drained from Tac's face. _Don't evil corporations ever give their enemies a chance to escape anymore?! _he thought as he turned and sped down the corridor towards the teleporter. _There isn't nearly enough time! I'm done for!_

"Two... One..."

_Clickickickickick._

Tac stopped running.

_Where was the explosion?_ he asked himself mentally. _I can't believe it. These corridors must be so poorly maintained that not even the self-destruct works anymore!_

The robot glided over.

"This is a very lucky day!" it said gleefully.

Tac took a few deep breaths to slow his heartbeat. He then pointed his flashlight forward. Its light fell on the teleporter at the end of the passageway.

"Yes," replied Tac. "Indeed it is. You will be of much use to me... uh... What should I call you? Do you have an ID number or possibly a name?"

"You can call me ROB," answered the robot, still happy as ever, "your Robotic Operating Buddy!"

"How appropriate," said Tac softly. "Not only does the unabbreviated version describe your exaggerated personality, but I'm ROBbing you from NME. Heh, heh, heh."

Tac looked back at "ROB", who was standing still, seemingly awaiting orders.

"As I was saying," continued Tac, walking up onto the teleporter and using that strange giant glove to input the code for their return, "you will be of much use to me, as you are a robot, and therefore are not susceptible to mind control. Hopefully, we can work together as a team to loot the conquered surface of Pop Star for relics of the possessed Meta Clan, and possibly even Galaxia."


	84. Hail to the Thief

**Chapter 84: Hail to the Thief**

"Uh, where are we, like, going?" asked Chuchu as she and Gooey flew.

"Our first destination is Machine Passage," said Gooey. "Once there, we will use its cannons to launch a long-range assault on Lololo and Lalala's fortress."

Chuchu gave Gooey a confused look. "Why?" she asked.

"With the destruction of Castle Dedede, Dark Matter was forced to set up base in Lololo and Lalala's fortress. I plant to use these cannons to drive Dark Matter and those under its possession out of the Dark Cloud completely with a rain of fire."

"And how will that, like, help us?"

"It will help us by allowing us to get to Kirby without being possessed in the Dark Cloud. Once we have rescued him, we will knock him out so that his mind will reject Dark Matter's possession, allowing him to finish the mission he started."

"But what about the star rod? It's still down in the Dark Cloud, isn't it?"

"We'll figure out how to retrieve that later. The act of rescuing Kirby is more urgent."

"But why don't we just get the star rod now and, like, beat Dark Matter ourselves? Why do we need Kirby?" This was Chuchu's seventh question in a row.

"And then what? What if we do get the star rod and lose to Dark Matter? Neither of us watched Kirby's battle with it. Only he knows how the eye fights. With such knowledge, Kirby will be able to win in a rematch. But, if one of us tries battling instead, Dark Matter will probably trick us just like Kirby. If either of us falls in battle, the entire Milky Way galaxy will be consumed by Dark Matter."

Chuchu bit her lip, biting back the urge to ask something else. She didn't want to annoy Gooey too much. He had been testy enough on the phone.

****

****

"Dark Matter! Dark Matter!"

"What is it Nightmare?"

"Galaxia! It has been stolen!"

"WHAT?"

"Just as I was handing it to one of the Meta Clan, Meta Knight swooped in out of nowhere and the sword was gone!"

"That is a shame, but not a disaster. Meta Knight knows not where my eye is located, nor will he be able to find it. We will have to be cautious with him still at large."

"Why don't you just move your eye to another planet? Meta Knight doesn't have access to a starship. You could begin your conquest of the closest planet now. I believe it's called Aqualiss.

King Dedede applauded. "Thank you Nightmare. That is exactly what I shall do. This solves our little Meta Knight problem. Pop Star is mine, so I shall move on. Prepare this fortress for takeoff. I'm taking everything to Aqualiss."

_KABOOM!_

King Dedede looked wildly around. "What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know," replied Nightmare.

_KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!_

"Someone's firing at us!" exclaimed King Dedede. "It can't be Meta Knight, can it?!"

"Whoever it is, we must launch a counteroffensive at once!"

"This fortress is holding. Nightmare, search out the source of the attack and neutralize it. We cannot take off in these conditions."

"Yes, Dark Matter."

****

****

"So... ROB. What skills do you possess exactly?"

"My primary function is to be a mechanic."

"Strike one. I can already fix nearly anything."

"My secondary function is scanning to locate either items of great hazard or of great value."

"Perfect. That's exactly the kind of help I need."

"And I sense an item of immense value nearby."

"Oh?" Tac raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. It is approximately seven yards in the direction I am facing, then straight down."

"Well, then. Would you be able to get it for me?"

"I'll try," replied ROB cheerfully.

Tac's helicopter was hovering above the Dark Cloud and a very long rope was let out of it for ROB to climb down. The helicopter was Tac's own invention. It shot anti-matter particles from its blades to enable it to fly through space. After a few minutes, ROB reemerged.

"Did you get it?" asked Tac eagerly.

"Yes," answered ROB, opening a compartment in his midsection and pulling out the "item". "I found it lodged under a waterwheel."

Tac stared at it. ROB had just recovered the Great Star Rod of Light!

"This is the legendary star rod!" exclaimed Tac. "We could use this to save Pop Star!"

"Really?" replied ROB. "Is Pop Star in trouble?"

Tac looked down at the Dark Cloud and thought about that for a moment.

"On second thought," said Tac, "Pop Star looks nice and peaceful. Let's go to Aqualiss and sell this thing. I'm gonna be rich!"

****

****

"Chuchu!" shouted Gooey. "Wait! Stop! Hold your fire!"

Chuchu abandoned her cannon and flew over.

""What is it?" she asked.

"The Great Star Rod of Light is on the move," replied Gooey.

"What?"

Gooey pointed to a screen that had appeared on his warpstar. It showed a map of the Starred System and a little yellow dot was slowly traveling between Pop Star and Aqualiss.

"This is my personal, custom-made warpstar," explained Gooey. "It features a link to my computers at base. It shows me whenever something important to my mission occurs."

"But, how could the star rod be, like, moving?"

"That's what I'm wondering. We must go after it. We don't know what's going on with it, so someone might have stolen it. If the star rod is broken again, we may lose all hope of recovering it. I shall be back shortly with the equipment needed for using the warpstars to travel through space. You stay here and keep firing at the fortress while I'm gone."

Gooey flew off.

Silence.

Chuchu flew back over to her cannon, took aim... and noticed something approaching her that was traveling from the vicinity of where she was firing. It was huge. Soon it was close enough for her to see it clearly.

It was Nightmare and he was now nearing the size of Masher.

Wasting no time, Chuchu shot Nightmare in the face, which had no effect.

Chuchu quickly retreated into the inside of Machine Passage, hoping to hide from Nightmare, who had obviously come to investigate the source of the shots. She flew under a bridge in a very large room to wait until Nightmare had left. She hoped Gooey would be gone until that time.

A huge black monstrosity in a tank was all that kept her company. It had three eyes that remained fixed on her. Chuchu wished it would look away.

After a few minutes, Chuchu flew out from her hiding place and went back outside. Looking around, she saw Nightmare, a ways away, peering into each corridor that led inside. He was too big. Eventually, Nightmare got annoyed and crushed a portion of Machine Passage with his floating hands. Then he moved on.

Chuchu had had wonderful timing, because that was then Gooey returned. Chuchu was unsure as to whether Gooey had noticed Nightmare or not; if he had, he didn't care.

Gooey had brought another warpstar. Chuchu boarded it and her old one disappeared.

"These warpstars will automatically produce airtight pods when flown into space," said Gooey. "They are very expensive to make, so make sure yours lasts you the trip to Aqualiss and back. Let's go."

****

****

"Soh, Taaaaac, whate ya gote fer meh toe-day?"

"I've got a real special item today, Elieel."

"Rileh? Shuh meh."

Tac produced the star rod. Elieel, a sentient eel who lived in a clay pot filled with water, looked it over.

"It just sparkles, doesn't it," commented ROB. "I found it myself."

"Hussss yer freeend?" asked Elieel.

"That's ROB," answered Tac. "I saved him from the clutches of NME."

"Aynd soh, heh rihwurdeed ya wite deeessss?"

"Yep. Anyway, how much will you pay for such a treasure?"

"He won't be paying you anything," interrupted Chuchu. She and Gooey had just landed. "We'll be taking the star rod."

Tac gave the pair a very confused and surprised look. _A blue blob and an octopus?_ he thought. _What the hell?_

"Aynd, huh ore thah?" asked Elieel.

"I haven't the faintest idea," replied Tac.

Gooey and Chuchu carefully landed their warpstars to prevent them from disappearing, and then disembarked. They were now standing on a beach in the shade of a palm tree.

"Alright, hand it over," finished Chuchu, "and no one gets hurt."

Tac stifled a laugh. He had no idea what was going on. Elieel, however, jumped to conclusions.

"Kveeeck! Tac!" he yelled. "Gueeeef shinneh thyng ta meh!"

Chuchu raced forward and tackled Elieel's clay pot to prevent the star rod from being handed over. Elieel retracted inside a split-second before impact. The pot fell over and smashed on the ground, spilling water everywhere, but Elieel had vanished.

"Huh?" said Chuchu, confused.

"Ya crassseh bysh!" yelled Elieel's unmistakable voice from a distance. "Ih wuze dun bize-neeesss her! Noe ya goh ayn brak mih poat! Scruh ya! Ih aym gohyng ta fin oonoothoor dell eelssswar!"

Chuchu saw where the eel's voice was coming from. Another pot identical to the first stood a few yards away and out of it Elieel was shouting. Chuchu looked farther and could see a long line of pots all across the beach.

"How did he..." began Chuchu, but Tac interrupted.

"I don't know who the hell you are," he said, "but you just blew what could have been the biggest deal of my career and for that you're gonna pay!"

"Oh, yeah?" retorted Chuchu. "Bring it on!"

"Do you really want to fight me?! Be warned. I have lightning speed and reflexes li-"

Tac fell unconscious on the ground. Chuchu had given him a nasty smack with one of her tentacles.

Silence.

"Savior!" shouted ROB franticly. "Are you still operational? Speak to me!"

"Don't worry, robot," said Gooey, taking the star rod from Tac. "Your master has simply been knocked unconscious; he will reawaken eventually."

"Who is he?" asked Chuchu, looking at Tac.

"Seems like he's just a common thief," replied Gooey. "But I can't shake the feeling that he's more significant than that. Oh, wait. My warpstar's telling me something. WHAT?! How is that possible?!"

"What happened?"

"Lololo and Lalala's fortress has taken off and is headed this way! It's following us to Aqualiss!"


	85. Warriors Once Again

**Chapter 85: Warriors Once Again **

"The landing on Aqualiss was successful, Dark Matter."

"Excellent. My eye shall first enter the caves and possess everything within them. That way, I will gather the maximum amount of nutrients possible at the beginning of this planet's conquest. Efficiency is key. I've waited in space for too long to wait any longer. I want the dreams of all the organisms in this galaxy as soon as possible. In case any of the locals attack this fortress, I will put all reserve forces within on attack mode. I want no distractions for my eye."

"As you wish, Dark Matter."

****

****

"Okay, we're in," announced Gooey, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," agreed Chuchu, "but how are we, like, going to find Kirby in this place?"

"By searching every nook and cranny," answered Gooey.

"But this fortress is huge! Plus, there are probably guards everywhere. If any of them see us, Dark Matter will come to possess us!"

"That is highly unlikely. Dark Matter always begins its conquest of planets by possessing as much of the population as possible. With its mind focused on that alone, it will not react if we are detected. It will, however, return if we use the star rod to free any of its captives from possession. It cannot help but notice that. However, I cannot ingest the star rod, for that would negate the bond it has with Kirby. Kirby assembled the star rod; that is why he knows exactly how to use it. So, I shall hold the star rod in my tongue and you will lead the way, protecting it and me from harm. Also, we must get off our warpstars. Using them is too dangerous in these narrow hallways. We will likely not find them again, but we can just hitch a ride on this fortress back to Pop Star if Kirby defeats Dark Matter."

"And what if we, like, don't find him... by the time Dark Matter's eye comes back?" asked Chuchu, tugging at her ribbon.

"If we don't, then we will have nothing to worry about, for Dark Matter will take care of our possessed bodies for us."

As if on cue, a Waddle Dee rounded a corner, spotting the pair.

Chuchu gave it a quick punch, knocking it out.

"Well, then," said Chuchu resolutely, "let's go. We got this whole place to search and it looks like I'll be the one fighting us through it."

****

****

Two hours later...

After wandering long corridors, finding rooms of countless purposes (bedrooms, bathrooms, balconies, offices, closets, gun turrets, etc.) and battling a moderate amount of enemies, Chuchu began to get frustrated.

Without warning, she rounded on Gooey, shouting, "Did Lololo and Lalala _purposely make_ this place maze-like?!"

"Yes, they did," answered Gooey matter-of-factly.

Silence.

"Why would they do such a thing?!" Chuchu demanded to know.

"Lololo and Lalala are, for your information," explained Gooey, "known not only for their company, Royal Shipping, but also for their vastly superior recall abilities. They don't have photographic memory; they have kinetic memory. In other words, once one of them has performed an action, he or she will always remember exactly how they did it. This means that once they have walked to a certain place in this fortress, they will always remember how to get back there. They had this place built so that only they would know how to navigate its corridors."

"Oh."

The corridor they were walking down had led them to a door. Chuchu opened it, revealing... the guestroom! (See Chapter 13 if you don't remember this place.)

However, the guestroom's occupants were about to pose quite a problem. For, standing right there... were the seven remaining Bukisets.

As soon as they saw Chuchu and Gooey, they jumped into action.

Here's a recap of their weapons: spear, club, electricity-firing wand, boomerang, sword, flame-thrower and ice-shooter.

The Bukiset with the flame-thrower torched his surroundings. The one with the ice-shooter froze his surroundings. The ones with a sword, a spear and a club rushed at Chuchu, while the wand-holder shot electricity and the boomerang-carrier threw his weapon.

Chuchu dodged every attack with one maneuver, which was jumping and, by using the suction-cups on two of her tentacles, sticking to the ceiling. The sword-wielding Bukiset's charge, however, flowed right into a jump-attack, which would have sliced Chuchu in half had she not struck him upwards right before he would have brought his blade down.

Chuchu's punch bashed the Bukiset into the ceiling. Chuchu then quickly swiped the sword from his hand used it to impale the hapless creature.

_POW!_ The Bukiset burst into smoke.

The Bukiset with a spear made a sharp thrust up at her, but she swung down and performed a spin-attack, cutting the spear in half. She then grabbed the pointy end and sunk it into the Bukiset's face, while parrying a boomerang and a bolt of electricity with her sword.

_POW!_

Chuchu quickly about-faced, hurling the spearhead at the club-carrier, who hit it with the club, making it ricochet right back at her! Chuchu just barely managed to dodge.

After blocking another electrical blast and boomerang flight, Chuchu centered all her physical strength into one downward slice with her sword on top of the clubber, who blocked it easily with his club. But, the cut had been a trick, for Chuchu now punched the Bukiset with each of her seven free tentacles, temporarily stunning him, and, in finishing her slice, she chopped him in half.

_POW!_

Picking up the club, Chuchu used it to block another electrical shot. She was then astonished to see it fly backwards and zap the Bukiset that had fired it! The club must reverse the direction of whatever projectile hits it!

Before the Bukiset could recover, Chuchu threw her club at him, mashing in the front of his body.

_POW!_

Chuchu dodged the boomerang again and this time threw her sword at the thrower, who dodged, but in doing so caused the returning boomerang to pierce his forehead.

_POW!_

"YOOOOOOOW!" screamed Chuchu, jumping out of the flames. Half of the guestroom was now alight, yet Chuchu nearly slipped and fell over on the side that was completely frozen.

The pain of going from a very hot environment into a very cold one gripped Chuchu for a few excruciating seconds.

The Bukiset with an ice-shooter toggled the setting on his weapon, changing it from "crushed" to "cubed". Then he aimed at Chuchu and fired a spray of ice bullets at her.

Chuchu, however, recovered from her temperature shock in time. She quickly darted around the firing Bukiset, picked up her fallen sword and rammed it into him.

_POW!_

Amidst the flames, the fireproof Bukiset with a flame-thrower also toggled the setting on his weapon, changing it from "incinerate" to "obliterate". Taking aim, he shot a ball of fire in Chuchu's direction.

Chuchu dodged, but the flaming sphere exploded on contact with the ice, blasting her onto her side.

More fireballs were coming her way. Chuchu quickly got up and threw her sword in the direction they were coming from, but they didn't stop coming. She had missed the sniper.

Running back and forth, dodging the explosions, Chuchu managed to make her way back to where she had killed the previous Bukiset. Sure enough, his ice-shooter lay on the ground. As she ran past it, Chuchu grabbed it and started shooting at the final Bukiset, but the ice bullets each melted when they entered the fire!

_If only I had that club right now!_ thought Chuchu. _I could whack those fireballs directly back into this annoying psycho's face._

While still running around to evade the onslaught of exploding fireballs, Chuchu had a look at the gun-like ice-shooter, noticing a switch on its side. She flipped it and fired again, making the weapon spew a whirlwind of frost at the flames.

Chuchu ran across the room and back over and over, continuously discharging the endless supply of ice crystals in her weapon. When these crystals came into contact with the fire, they still melted, but they also left behind droplets of water, which slowly put out the fire.

At long last, the barrage of fiery orbs ceased. The side of the room that had one been ablaze was now covered with thick fog.

Chuchu walked through the mist, searching for what was left of the Bukiset. Eventually, she found him, frozen solid.

She reached out with a tentacle and lightly tapped the ice around him.

_KABOOM!_

The Bukiset exploded, blasting off the shell of ice that had encased him. Chuchu was flung onto the ground. Luckily, no sharp ice shrapnel had hit her.

She got up, picked up the flame-thrower, flipped its switch, and shot a few streams of fire into the air, dissipating the fog.

Chuchu looked around.

"Gooey?" she called. "Gooey! Where are you?!"

Chuchu gathered up the six weapons that had not been destroyed and walked over to the door by which she and Gooey had entered the room.

Gooey yelped in terror when he saw her in the doorway, holding an imposing weapon in almost every tentacle.

"Oh my gosh, Gooey," said Chuchu, sighing. "You are such a scaredy-cat."

"That really scared me!" shouted Gooey back. "I thought you were one of... _them_!"

"Gooey, I wasn't about to lose to a bunch of maniacs that didn't know the first thing about teamwork. It isn't for nothing that I'm called the greatest fighter in Dreamland."

"You aren't the greatest fighter in Dreamland," retorted Gooey, still mad at her for scaring him. "For one thing, the Bukisets had no coordination because Dark Matter wasn't bothering to coordinate them. For another, if Knuckle Joe were still around, he'd be able to squash you like a bug. And lastly, WE AREN'T _IN_ DREAMLAND ANYMORE!!!"

Chuchu rolled her eyes and restrained her anger as much as she could, which wasn't very much.

"Oh, shut up, Gooey!" she spat back. "You're wasting time! Let's go!"

"Yes! Let's!" finished Gooey, walking past Chuchu and using a segment of his tongue to tug at one of her tentacles.

_Bam!_

Gooey suddenly found himself soaring across the battle-ravaged room. He hit a wall and slid to the floor, his body flat as a pancake.

"Never..." stammered Chuchu, "touch... me... with... that... again."

"Okay," wheezed Gooey, gasping for breath. His body slowly returned to its normal shape.

Actually, that had improved Chuchu's mood quite a bit. Gooey had been particularly satisfying to punch, Chuchu thought.

Chuchu walked over to him.

"Well," said Gooey, straightening up and using his tongue to brush himself off, "I hope we won't have to do that again. Remember, we're on a mission that must be completed as quickly as possible."

"So," replied Chuchu, "which door do your think we should take?"

There were five doors in the room, including the one they had entered through.

Gooey looked around and noticed a beat-up sign on one of the doors that read "Our room. Please wait for admittance."

"Dark Matter would probably keep something important in Lololo and Lalala's personal quarters," said Gooey. "So I suggest we try looking in there first."

Chuchu went over to the door and opened it.

The room was fairly large, yet there was only a single other door leading out of it. The room's main feature was a not-very-special-looking desk by the far wall. There were many holes in the walls with sparking wires dangling out. Clearly a large amount of machinery had been forcibly removed from this area. Yet these holes were not what Chuchu's eyes immediately snapped to.

There was Kirby. He was standing in the center of the room with a completely blank expression on his face. His eyes, which were normally oval-shaped, were now circular with gaping slits for pupils.

He didn't attack. He didn't move. He didn't even blink. Something was clearly wrong. Had Chuchu and Gooey arrived too late?

****

****

NOTE TO THE READER: I am well aware that the weapons the Bukisets carried in this story were not all the same as the ones they carried in Kirby's Dreamland 3.


	86. eye

NOTE TO THE READER: This story is rapidly nearing completion. It is possible that the chapter after this one will be the last.

****

**Chapter 86: eye **

"This is bad," muttered Gooey. "Everyone else has attacked us, but here Kirby stands still."

"Well, hit him with the star rod and cure him already!" interrupted Chuchu.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"WHY NOT?!"

"What if we were too late? What if Kirby's mind has been damaged so that he can't fight anymore? Remember, using the star rod on any of Dark Matter's possessions will call the eye."

Chuchu screamed in frustration. In one quick motion she grabbed the star rod from Gooey and smacked Kirby across the head with it.

_POOFsssssssssssssssh!_

Black smoke poured from Kirby's body, filling the room.

"Chuchu!" cried Gooey. "What have you done?!"

Then the smoke slowly disappeared.

Chuchu rushed over to Kirby, who had fallen over.

Kirby's eyes were closed.

"Kirby?" she said, suddenly fearful. "Wake up!" She shook him violently. "Wake up, Kirby! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!"

"Oh, now you've done it!" interjected Gooey. "Dark Matter must have had him in a nightmare-enhanced state. That way, it could get more nutrients from Kirby, but would be unable to control him. Kirby's now in a deep sleep, plagued with nightmares. Once he wakes, the effects of the nightmares will still be with him even though he will not remember them."

"Soooooooo, what... should... we... do?" Chuchu tugged at her ribbon, nearly ripping it.

"The only thing we can do. Dark Matter's eye is coming. Our only option is to run."

****

****

"Nightmare! Someone has recovered the star rod and used it to steal the anomaly! It was probably some Protector of Dreamland that was not consumed by my Dark Cloud. Find it and destroy it!"

****

****

"Gooey!" yelled Chuchu, running as fast as she could while carrying the still-sleeping Kirby. "Where are we going?!"

"Hopefully, out of this place!" replied Gooey, his body carrying him through the corridors faster than Chuchu would have believed possible. How could he move so fast without legs? How could he move at _all _without legs?

Gooey was clobbering every enemy that came their way with the star rod. Dark Matter would know where they were regardless, so they needed to get out as quickly as possible.

"Oh, come on Kirby..." panted Chuchu. "Wake up..."

"Chuchu! Quick! This way!"

Chuchu saw Gooey disappear off to the left. She followed suit and ran right into him. Yet why he had stopped was immediately clear.

Dark Matter's eye, now as big as Masher, loomed in front of them. Gooey had led them out onto an observation deck.

Both Chuchu and Gooey stood there, transfixed. They had been caught. If they retreated, Dark Matter would lash out and possess them within seconds.

Dark Matter held a gigantic black tentacle out in front of its eye. The pair could just make out King Dedede standing on it.

"Gooey and Chuchu, I presume," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "I half-expected I would see you again, Chuchu; you are annoyingly persistent. As for you, Gooey, you should have kept your nonexistent nose out of this. Don't you remember the warning I gave you using Rick's body? I thought you would be half way to the Lylat System by now, you cowardly lump."

Silence. Gooey didn't want to give Dark Matter the satisfaction of hearing a reaction to its taunt.

"And now you have followed me here to another planet," resumed King Dedede, "hoping to defeat me by reviving the one being that actually once stood a chance. Well, you have arrived too late. The anomaly has been neutralized by nightmares, and now you will be too."

"Oh, yeah?!" retorted Chuchu, putting Kirby down.

"Chuchu!" hissed Gooey. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you'll still not possess this whole galaxy, Dark Matter!" continued Chuchu. "You've passed through many other solar systems before and you've failed in possessing them every time. Even if you possess us, other powers will remain that will destroy you!"

"Just the kind of retort I had expected from a privileged Pop Star resident," laughed King Dedede. "You have no idea why I failed those other times. The truth was that the power of the minds that I have before tried to possess were too great and I was forced to move on."

"Then it will happen again!" Chuchu's voice shook slightly. "No matter where you go, there will still be those that can resist your influence!"

"My 'influence' has become much stronger since my possession of the weak, dream-filled minds of Pop Star. Once my eye is big enough, I will be able to possess the populations of entire planets with the sweep of a tentacle. But for now, it will suffice simply to posses you and your ill-fated cohort. Welcome to my worl- HOOARYOW!"

Kirby was awake. He had grabbed the star rod from Gooey and fired a star shot into Dark Matter's eye.

To Gooey and Chuchu's amazement, Kirby leapt from the balcony, soaring into the air without the help of a warpstar.

Kirby flew straight into Dark Matter's eye and whacked it with the star rod.

Gooey and Chuchu both winced in pain. The sound created by that hit was a percussive blast louder than that of any explosion.

Black smog spurted in all directions from the ball around Dark Matter's eye, instantly turning the bright, sunny day into a dark, moonless night.

Dark Matter, taken completely by surprise, only now regained focus. Dropping Dedede like a hot potato, the eye shot all eight of its tan-colored explosive balls at Kirby at once.

But, Kirby, fast as lightning, sped forward in a corkscrew attack at the eye, not only bashing into it and causing another sound blast, but letting loose a starburst of star shots in the process, which blew up all of the orbs.

Kirby brought the star rod over his head and smacked Dark Matter's eye downward with it, managing to blast the black ball down close to the ocean, which was amazing considering Kirby's small size compared to it. This produced another ear-splitting noise.

Before Dark Matter could retaliate, Kirby swung the star rod violently, firing a cascade of star shots into Dark Matter's eye.

The dark smoke was everywhere now. Gooey and Chuchu could only see Kirby and the eye through its blackness.

The white veins in the red eye were getting bigger, throbbing like mad and expelling white puss into the air. When the eye was nearly covered with blisters and steaming slime, Kirby threw the star rod into it.

The Great Star Rod of Light flew right into the pupil Dark Matter's eye. Then, all went black.

"no... eye lost... my dreams... they're gone..."


	87. Waking Up

NOTE TO THE READER: I did it! I finished! Now I have to go back and revise the whole thing. But, the important thing is that this story is now complete! Also, my profile has been updated. If you haven't checked it recently, do so! And finally, FanFiction has completely stopped allowing writers to show breaks in their stories, so I have put little dashes where breaks should be. This break problem will naturally be fixed in the revised version, which will not be uploaded until I am finished with it. See ya!

**Chapter 87: Waking Up**

"But how could he have, like, not been mentally scarred, or something, from his nightmares?"

"He is the first Star Warrior in history to survive a mission. He must have a stronger will than the others. I get the feeling that he was able to cope, in some way, with the nightmares."

Kirby slowly opened his eyes. Chuchu looked over at him, beaming.

"You did it, Kirby!" she cheered. "You won! Dark Matter is gone! YOU SAVED DREAMLAND!"

Kirby looked up into the night sky, which was an easy thing to do since he was already on his back. Everything was all right.

"Kirby, I'd like you to meet Gooey," announced Chuchu.

Kirby rolled onto his side to look.

"Hello," said Gooey.

"Hi," replied Kirby shakily.

"Looks like you're still exhausted," commented Gooey. "Well, Lololo and Lalala found my computerized warpstar, which informed me that due to your miraculous destruction of Da-"

"Too many words..." moaned Kirby.

"Sorry," apologized Gooey. "In a nutshell, the Fountain of Dreams is back to normal. You should take a long rest. You've deserved it. May your dreams be filled with happiness."

Kirby's eyes closed. He was asleep again in seconds.

"As for you," said Gooey quietly to Chuchu, "the LAP will most likely be hosting a victory celebration. You'll want to attend, I don't doubt. They will of course all be honored if you told them the story of your saving Kirby and thus the galaxy."

Chuchu smiled widely, but then asked, "But, what about you?"

"What _about_ me?" replied Gooey.

"Aren't you going to come to the party? You masterminded this whole mission. You're the one who should really be telling the story. Besides, you give better details than anyone."

"Chuchu, you know how I am. I'm like Kirby. I don't like to draw much attention to myself... unless I'm selling something, which Kirby doesn't do. I wonder how good he'd be at marketing my warpstars once I've perfected them."

"Gooey! That's not a fitting job for the hero of Dreamland!"

"Well, what else would he do? He'll never be able to go back to being just another Dreamlander after what he's seen and done."

"Chuchu..." groaned Kirby. "You woke me up..."

"Oops!" apologized Chuchu. "Sorry!"

"But, now that I'm awake again," continued Kirby, resolutely standing up, "would you repeat what you just said... Gooey? That is you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's me," acknowledged Gooey.

Gooey thought hard. He didn't want to be the one to tell Kirby that he couldn't be a Dreamlander anymore.

"I don't look quite how you pictured me, do I?" he digressed. "Few people alive today know what I look like. As a matter of fac-"

"Tell me what you said..." interrupted Kirby.

"Darn it," said Gooey under his breath. He then said out loud and slightly shakily, "You can't go back to being a normal Dreamlander, Kirby. You've obviously seen too much. I suppose you could become one of the Protectors. I'd be honored if you would work with me in my company."

Kirby looked down at the sand under his feet.

"Kirby, we could make millions together," encouraged Gooey.

"Millions of what?" asked Kirby.

"We could be rich!"

"Like... rich chocolate?"

Gooey stopped. For the first time in centuries he felt like an idiot. Dreamlanders have no currency. Kirby wouldn't be interested in money.

"Alright, Kirby," resigned Gooey. "I think there's something I should tell you. I need to be honest.

"Kirby, the job of Protector is actually not as glorious as it is made out to be. The truth of the matter is that Dreamland is an incredibly valuable place. Whoever manages to come to the seat of power over it will be made an obscenely prosperous person.

"Now, King Dedede has lorded over Dreamland for as long as anyone can remember. How a mere penguin has always managed to outlive every Dreamlander I'll never know, but it is a known fact that there were other rulers before Dedede came along. The prominent theory as to how he assumed power includes covert conspiracy and regicide.

"The point is... King Dedede, as you are no doubt aware, has always been exceptionally greedy. Since long before Dark Matter's invasion, Dedede has served two primary roles in Dreamland. One is his use of his mind-bogglingly huge army of Waddle Dees, with which he performs some protecting duties. The other is his payment of the Protectors.

"This means that it is the Protectors' job to risk their lives for the safety of Dreamland, while they are paid by a miserly trillionaire. Which is why most of the Protectors come from companies. We don't intend to get rich by being Protectors; we intend in part to advertise our _products_ by being Protectors, so that we'll be able to sell them all across the Starred System. You see, the mo-"

Gooey faltered again. He had to put this in terms Kirby would understand. He had meant to say, "...the money and publicity we get from Dedede helps us finance our companies," but that wouldn't work.

"Uh, the... um... Okay, I've got it," finished Gooey. "By helping King Dedede protect Dreamland, we get to share in the bounty of Dreamland.

"_Everybody_ wants King Dedede's job. He can pull wagons of gold out of Cavios by the day! He's got absolutely everything. Even his castle, which was destroyed, will be rebuilt within a month by his Waddle Dees. Ruling Dreamland is the best job there is. He's got us Protectors trapped. Although, I have reason to believe that, somewhere in Dreamland is a portal into a parallel dimension, known to us only as 'Mirror World'. When this portal is discovered, there will no doubt be a rush to rule that as well."

Gooey stopped, just now realizing how much information that had been.

"Did that... all... make sense?" he asked Kirby tentatively.

Kirby simply stood there, his mouth slightly open, unable to respond.

-

Kirby never went to the party. He always avoided occasions that involved large crowds. Chuchu had begged him to come and had nearly resorted to force, but Gooey threatened to lick her if she touched Kirby.

Unsure as to what to do, Kirby... went home, back to his dome-shaped house in Vegetable Valley.

The place was exactly as he had left it. His nightcap lay on the little table by his bed. Kirby put it on, got under the covers and went to sleep.

-

The party was being held on the roof of one of the largest skyscrapers in Neo City. Gooey had gone in spite of himself, but kept as low a profile as possible. The cheers of those attending filled the air.

And yet, everyone was quite disappointed that Kirby had not come, Ribbon and the Queen of the Ripple Star Fairies especially, as they had been hoping to reward Kirby with his own Fairy crystal, the ultimate honor the Fairies ever gave.

Coo, for some reason, arrived late. He flew over to Gooey.

"Gooey," greeted Coo, "it is an honor to be in your presence. You should know that I have taken the liberty to assess the damage done to the ecosystem of Dreamland. Approximately sixty-seven percent of all wildlife perished between the time Dark Matter arrived and the time it was destroyed."

"Oh, that's not good," replied Gooey. "But why are you telling _me_ this? This is an issue for your department, the LAP I mean."

"During my travels, I discovered another deceased individual that you would most likely desire to view."

"Oh?"

"Come with me."

Gooey made his way through the crowd to his custom warpstar, which he boarded. Coo took off to the south. Gooey followed.

Titan Tower came quickly into view. The great grey pillar rose from the ground to the clouds.

Flying around the colossal structure, Gooey spotted something stuck to its side.

"This is what I have been meaning to show you," announced Coo.

It was Meta Knight... and he was dead. He was impaled through the forehead upon his own sword, Galaxia, which was still in activated form. The sword was stuck in the surface of the tower, transfixing Meta Knight to the spot. His eyes, which usually had a yellow-amber glow to them were now black as night. As Meta Knight was once a Dreamlander, he did not bleed, but his wings drooped below his back like blood on the wall.

Gooey stared, eyes wide.

"It... He..." he stammered. "Well, I suppose... this was the logical outcome... or result... of... I mean, Meta Knight lost everything during Dark Matter's reign: his warship, his army, his whole planet! And then..." Gooey remembered Chuchu telling him how Meta Knight had made a frantic solo attack before Kirby fought Dark Matter the first time. "Then he lost his sanity," finished Gooey. "Which was followed, after Dark Matter's defeat, by his will to live."

Gooey's eyes now focused on Galaxia.

_This building is made of a magically indestructible material,_ thought Gooey,_ but of course this particular sword can still destroy it easily. At long last I can claim the legendary blade Galaxia!_

Gooey wrapped his tongue around the hilt of the sword and pulled. Galaxia didn't budge.

"I have tried removing the sword," mentioned Coo. "Such a task is impossible to carry out."

"Maybe it needs a little warpstar power," replied Gooey, pulling with all his might while attempting to fly backwards at full speed on the warpstar.

To both Gooey and Coo's utter amazement, Galaxia pulled free... sort of.

Gooey stopped himself from shooting backwards like a comet and looked in horror at what he had done. About a quarter of the sword had broken off and was still stuck in the side of Titan Tower. The rest remained attached to the hilt.

With nothing holding it up anymore, Meta Knight's body fell far below.

Coo, still slowly flapping his wings to keep aloft, flew over.

The entire sword, hilt and all, suddenly disintegrated and was blown away.

A great shuddering groan suddenly broke the silence. Titan Tower was tilting in their direction.

Gooey shrieked a swearword as he flew to the side. The tower missed him by inches.

_KA-BASHCRASHCRUMBLUMBLumble._

Meta Knight's body was buried by the fallen structure, which had completely fallen apart and now lay in ruin.

_Pow!_

A floating hand in a white glove shot up from the wreckage. It was followed by another, and then, one at a time, by a head, torso and feet.

"I'm free!" shouted Rayman. "How did this happen?"

Rayman looked around, rotating his head in a full circle. A smirk spread across his face.

"I was the only survivor of the tower's collapse? Well, I can't say that wasn't expected."

A strange cross between a beetle and a frog flew down to Rayman.

"Murphy!" exclaimed Rayman. "Where did you come from? Why is it that the first person I have to talk to is _you_?"

"Hey there, Rayman old buddy," said Murphy. He had a slightly high and very annoying voice; it sounded like a combination of a hiss, a snicker and a bark. "Great to see ya. Look, we got trouble back in the Luminshot System. Andre has returned! And with you away he's infected every single yellow Lum with his black disease. Our whole planet is in chaos! If you don't stop this before Andre finds his way to the Heart of the World, we'll all be doomed!"

"Then let's go! Time for me, Rayman, to save the day again!"

Rayman sprinted away with Murphy right behind.

Silence.

"How do his body parts float in the air like that?" said Gooey, thinking out loud. "What connects them? How does he eat? It's intriguing. I wish I could perform some tests on him, but he seems to be the hero of some other solar system, which needs him badly at the moment. Oh, well."

"I assume that you are not in need of my presence anymore at this time, Gooey," said Coo. "So, I shall be taking my leave."

"Very well, Coo," replied Gooey.

Coo flew back in the direction of the party.

Gooey flew down to the ruins. Something had just occurred to him. The gold in the top of Titan Tower must be buried under the rubble.

But, no it wasn't. Apparently, the room at the top did not fall with the rest of the structure. The gold had been to him lost forever.

_I wonder why this whole thing fell over when I broke Galaxia?_ thought Gooey. _Come to think of it, how _was_ I able to break Galaxia? I did not know it _could_ be broken! Wait! That's it! Galaxia must have been the original prize at the top of Titan Tower! All that gold couldn't have possibly been the reward for the victor. It had to have been something powerful, which maybe Meta Knight took from the room when he won, which he must have done, to claim this sword! Reuniting Galaxia with Titan Tower made the magic in each cancel out, thus destroying both._

A beeping noise was coming from Gooey's warpstar. Gooey looked down at the little screen that had appeared on it, which read "NEW PLANET DETECTED IN STARRED SYSTEM".

"What!" exclaimed Gooey aloud. "How is that possible?"

-

Giant footsteps disturbed Kirby's sleep. He awoke and looked out the window by his bed.

Masher, dripping wet from his stroll through the ocean, was standing right outside.

Kirby threw off his nightcap and sped out the door of his house just in time, for Masher's huge mace crushed it moments later.

_It's after me again!_ thought Kirby. _I'll need something very powerful if I'm going to crush it!_

Kirby instinctively summoned two abilities, but was astounded when it actually worked! He still had his powers! Kirby summoned Plasma and Fighter abilities to become Hyper-Fighter Kirby! A green headband appeared on his head.

Masher lashed out again with his mace, but Kirby ran out of the way and focused on his headband to charge his ability.

Kirby felt a sudden increase of energy and strength, which signified that he had charged up once.

Kirby ran right towards Masher, who pulled his mace after Kirby, dragging it back across the ground.

Kirby ran faster and felt a second rush of charge energy.

Kirby ran right under Masher where the monster couldn't hit him and charged a third time.

Masher jumped away and raised his mace to strike, but too late. Kirby had already performed the fourth and final charge.

Kirby's speed was accelerated beyond comprehension when he activated his ability. Like a bullet he shot at Masher, landing right on the plus sign and pummeling into it with at least forty punches per second.

Masher could barely feel the barrage, but Kirby's speed kept increasing. Now, Kirby copies were flying from Kirby, each landing somewhere else on Masher and pounding on it as well.

Masher used one of his hands to try brushing the rapidly multiplying swarm off of himself, but to no avail.

Masher started thrashing around, groaning under the onslaught, which had now peaked at sixty Kirby copies strong.

Then, Masher finally creaked to a halt. Huge dents now covered his body. And, with a mighty crash, he fell on his side, never to rise again.

The Kirby copies vanished and Hyper-Fighter Kirby transformed back into regular Kirby. But, he didn't get time to wonder why Masher had suddenly wanted to kill him. Falling out of the sky came five more monsters, each quite a few times Kirby's size. The first was a giant umbrella with an eye, a mouth, a tongue protruding from that mouth, and a single foot. The second was a robotic humanoid that was mostly concealed in a cylindrical capsule. Third was a huge orb with a swirling vortex of an eye that stared at Kirby; the rest of its body had a checkerboard pattern that kept changing colors. Fourth was a round, blue thing, which had a big (but normal-looking) eye on its front, bat-like wings on its sides, and spikes on its back. The fifth and final monster was an immense red octopus.

* * *

NOTE TO THE READER: These are some obscure enemies! The first is Jumpershoot from Kirby's Dreamland 2 and Kirby's Dreamland 3. The second in Buu-Robot from Kirby's Block Ball. The third is Orbservor from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. The fourth is Blink Bat, which is also from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. Then the fifth is from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble as well, but reappeared on the Kirby TV show with the name Octacon.

* * *

Kirby looked around at the quintet. He'd need the most powerful thing in his arsenal to defeat them.

As Kirby summoned two Plasma abilities, he thought it would be a miracle if he could get it charged up while dodging five huge enemies; Kirby became Overheat Kirby!

Gooey had unfortunately never warned Kirby about Overheat, but it was too late now. Kirby felt a terrible hot pounding from within. Suddenly unable to stand, Kirby fell on his face, eyes throbbing. His whole body felt like it was burning up.

The five monsters got ready to strike.

Unable to stand it anymore, Kirby activated his ability... and blacked out.

-

"Kirby!" shouted Gooey. "Kirby, wake up!"

Kirby reawakened for the fourth time that day and was astounded to find himself in the middle of a crater bigger than Masher.

"Kirby!" continued Gooey. "I am so glad you're all right. An attack! How did you survive without your powers!"

"I still have all my powers," replied Kirby.

"What? But, how can that be? The star rod merged with Dark Matter when you threw it into the eye."

Kirby held out his hand and the Great Star Rod of Light materialized in it.

"Apparently, I still have it," he said complacently.

Gooey goggled at the star rod.

"How... Kirby!" he exclaimed. "This is incredible! A miracle! So _this_ is why Nightmare sent those demons!"

"Nightmare?"

"Yes, Nightmare! He fled when you defeated Dark Matter, but has brought his company, NightMare Enterprises, into the Starred System on a new planet, which has been dubbed 'Neo Star', by King Dedede. He must want to avenge his master. He already sent five monsters after you! Where did they go? How did you defeat them all? And where did this crater come from? Did you get Crash ability or something?"

"I summoned two Plasma abilities..." answered Kirby. "...and that's all I remember."

"Oh, that's Overheat ability," said Gooey. "I really should have told you about that one. It functions exactly like Crash, but it also makes you faint. So that was what created this crater. And you annihilated all five monsters with it too. Nice job."

Kirby noticed that this conversation was no different than every one he had ever had with Gooey. Even though Dark Matter had been defeated, almost nothing had changed.

-

"ROB, this is it. These idiots may have stolen that trinket from me, but soon they shall quake beneath us!"

"But, savior, isn't that just because we're on top of an NME ship bent on destroying Pop Star? One that we hitched a ride on when it was sent from Neo Star past Aqualiss?"

"Yes, ROB," agreed Tac. "That is exactly why. On top of a gigantic UFO... This is the place to be. Once all below has crumbled to dust, we will be able to loot whatever we please from the wreckage. And, with your superior skill at finding items of high value, we'll become rich in no time!"

"I am very happy for us!" cheered ROB.

-

The party in Neo City ended abruptly when the UFO appeared over it. The UFO was gigantic. It was perfectly disk-shaped and black, with a hole in the center of its underside. Its diameter was as long as that of Mt. Dedede, which meant that it effectively covered all of Neo City.

The predictable pandemonium ensued, much as it had when Dark Matter first invaded Neo City, but the UFO did not attack. Instead, a message rang from it, amplified for all of Rainbow Resort to hear.

"SURRENDER THE ANOMALY," boomed the unmistakable voice of Nightmare, "OR DREAMLAND WILL BE DESTROYED."

-

"Perfect," said Gooey.

"What!" exclaimed Kirby. "They're going to destroy us all unless I give myself up! You just told me I can't destroy this thing! How is its threat any help!"

"Kirby," explained Gooey, "you are going on another mission."

"What?" repeated Kirby.

"Nightmare wants you, so we'll give you to him. We'll load you on the UFO, falsely secured. Then you'll ride it to Neo Star and go after Nightmare to prevent him from splitting Pop Star in two."

-

The send off was extravagant, but no one could go near Kirby, Gooey and Chuchu, who hovered over the rest on warpstars.

"You sure you'll be all right?" asked Chuchu.

"I'll be fine," replied Kirby. "I was just about to ask you the same question."

"My place is here with the LAP," said Chuchu determinately. "I'm now their greatest asset, replacing the legendary Pon and Con as the LAP's fighting force. Lololo and Lalala gave me back the weapons I stole from the weird monster clone things in their fortress."

Kirby decided not to bother asking what "weird monster clone things" Chuchu was referring to.

"Good luck," finished Chuchu, hugging Kirby. "I'll miss you."

"I probably won't be gone too long," replied Kirby, hugging Chuchu back.

"Okay, Kirby," interrupted Gooey, who was holding a sack with his tongue. "You still have my cell phone right?"

Kirby thought for a moment and the phone appeared in his hand.

"Good," continued Gooey. "I'll contact you through that as usual and I'll send warpstars with maximum tomatoes to assist as well, though they will take a little longer to reach you while you are on a different planet."

"Okay," acknowledged Kirby.

Gooey held out the sack. Kirby took it and got in.

"Summon something sharp when you want to get out," said Gooey as he reached out with his tongue to knot the string at the open end of the sack.

"Goodbye, Kirby," sniffed Chuchu.

"See ya. And don't worry," finished Kirby. "I've beaten Dark Matter. Nightmare will be a pushover."

Gooey pulled the knot closed.

Two mechanical arms reached down from the UFO and pulled Kirby, still in the sack, up through the hole in its underside.

The UFO flew off, disappearing almost instantly into the blue sky.

-  
Epilogue

Tac had gotten off the UFO before it departed, disgusted that it had not attacked. His helicopter had picked ROB and him up and taken them to the "green star", where they found the remaining members of the Meta Clan.

All of the Meta Clan had made it to the "green star". They were highly distraught, to say the least, that their leader had committed suicide. Their plan was to take the reserve spaceship they had always kept on the "green star" on a voyage across the Milky Way. Their new mission was to find and murder the person who betrayed their Halberd plans to Gooey. This same person, they were convinced, was the one who gave Gooey the ability to administer special powers on a Dreamlander. But, as this person hailed from the Solaris System, an obscure solar system on the end of one of the Milky Way's most distant spiral arms, it would take a few years (by the Odnetnin calendar) to get to him.

Tac watched the ship depart. He had considered hitching a ride, but had not decided on the matter fast enough, so it was decided for him. The Meta Clan never knew he was there.

With ROB helping him find anything interesting, Tac searched the Meta Clan hideout. Eventually, he located a teleporter. Using the big glove from inside his magic sack, he punched in the code and stepped into the teleporter with Rob. A cylinder closed around him. There was a whirring noise and the cylinder lifted, revealing...

"Gold!" exclaimed ROB. "You are, by far, the luckiest person I have ever met, O savior!"

Tac's eyes had gone wide. He had found Meta Knight's secret stash in the victory room of Titan Tower! And what a stash it was!

"I did it!" squealed Tac with glee. "I'm finally rich!"

"We have succeeded in our first mission!" rejoiced ROB, moving forward to stand on a hill of gold. "Hooray! What do you want to do next?"

Tac smiled. He really liked ROB. The robot was so enthusiastic, even though its mind obviously had no real comprehension as to the enormity of the accomplishment that it had helped Tac achieve. To ROB, this was just a victory, in and of itself. This was simply business as usual.

**THE END**


End file.
